Kafrit Group, a global masterbatches and compounds producer of high-quality plastic, is to leverage the MaterialsZone platform to improve the development of their plastics products that are used worldwide. The MaterialsZone platform enables manufacturers to leverage their materials data in combination with AI to create stronger, cheaper, lighter, more sustainable and functional materials to deliver value to your business.
Development of new materials has previously taken months or years. The MaterialsZone platform helps to accelerate that development in a focused way, helping academia and manufacturers alike to reduce the development cycle using its Informatics platform. It also provides the breadth of expertise and tools that individuals and businesses sometimes lack. The Kafrit Group is the latest organisation to take advantage. The platform will augment its internal capabilities and increase collaboration.
The MaterialsZone platform has a dedicated solution to assist with the development of and production of plastics. Organisations can input criteria such as the requirements for packaging that has a melting point higher than 200 degrees and will identify and reduce potential candidates, accelerating development time without individual testing. As well as the above, the plastic innovation solution features include:
- Digitize the laboratory work
- Automate the data collection from instruments
- Normalize the data and make it AI/ML-ready
- Provide insights through big data analytics dashboards
- Perform predictions of product properties
Dr. Assaf Anderson, Founder and CEO of MaterialsZone, said, “I see Kafrit Group as an ideal partner, not just because I’m confident they are confronting challenges we can assist with, but also due to their forward-thinking approach to innovation. This approach promises a smoother implementation and the potential for a successful outcome.”
Solving the development challenge at Kafrit and beyond
The development of new materials is expensive. Companies across various industries invest $41.6 billion annually in research and development (R&D). However, organisations often develop in isolation with small teams of expensive scientists. While some work with universities to assist with development, MaterialsZone offers a shortcut with its solution, offering a level of acceleration in development at a cost lower than any other means.
The global materials informatics market size was valued at US$125.65 million in 2022 by Spherical Insights, and they projected it to rise to $619.94 million by 2032, a CAGR of 17.3%. It is, therefore, less surprising that Kafrt has opted to choose this route for its R&D function.
Kafrit Group’s CEO, Daniel Singer, said, “The plastics industry is very crowded and constantly changing, which indicates innovation will be key to staying competitive. Tools like that of MaterialsZone will bring a much-needed data and artificial intelligence revolution into the Group, leading us into a better future and a better position in the market. Furthermore, MaterialsZone facilitates team collaboration and synergies within the Group, allowing us to harness our global assets more effectively.”
In memoriam
The partnership between the two companies was first envisioned and initially developed by Nadav Goldstein, Kafrit Group’s SVP BD & Innovation. He was killed on October 7th in Kfar Azar, a kibbutz which about 70 Hamas Militants attacked. Before his death, he had said, “With our global and expanding presence in the plastics industry, we constantly seek innovative tools to bolster our competitive edge and enhance the customer experience.
“The extraordinary team at MaterialsZone, along with their unique platform, will support our digital transformation process and will drive us towards a better future in which we can meet industry standards and our customers’ needs by enabling us to design our products with cost, sustainability, and functionality in mind.”
It is fitting that both companies chose to remember such an individual so intrinsic to working towards building the relationship despite being unable to see the benefits it will now deliver.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
For Kafrit, it will be interesting to see what new plastics and products it is able to develop with access to the MaterialsZone platform. It should shorten its development cycle significantly, enabling it to develop materials for customers’ requirements and potential new requirements quickly. If it can produce a case study in the future, this will further enhance MaterialsZone’s reputation.
For MaterialsZone, this is yet more proof that its platform should deliver the kind of acceleration in development times that companies crave, either in developing new products or in meeting the changing needs of its customers. MaterialsZone have an innovative solution that is beyond what Enterprise usually cover, but may be of interest to certain manufacturing organisations that invest heavily in R&D.
