Mühlbauer and PragmatIC announced their strategic partnership to deliver solutions that support the integration of PragmatIC’s unique flexible integrated circuits (FlexICs).

The companies have been working together since 2018 building on Mühlbauer’s extensive experience in inlay assembly to develop practical solutions for high-speed bonding of FlexICs. The TAL15000 is the industry benchmark system for flip-chip RFID inlay production, with a throughput of up to 13,000 inlays per hour and a global installed base of more than 300 machines.

PragmatIC recently announced its first ConnectIC products focused on HF-RFID for smart packaging applications including brand authentication and grey market avoidance. The qualification of the TAL15000 for FlexIC assembly enables manufacturers to leverage their existing installed base to deliver dramatically lower cost RFID inlays. Coupled with the incredibly thin, flexible and robust nature of FlexICs, this unlocks the potential to extend RFID solutions into a much wider range of mass market opportunities.

“Mühlbauer is focused on being the proven technology partner for the RFID industry,” said Gerald Niklas, business development manager Automation at Mühlbauer. “We see PragmatIC’s innovative FlexICs as a key enabler for the adoption of RFID in mass market applications and we look forward to continuing our collaboration to deliver robust and durable RFID products at a fraction of current inlay costs.”

“We are very excited that Mühlbauer has qualified their TAL15000 system for high-speed bonding of our FlexICs,” said Scott White, CEO of PragmatIC. “Their extensive knowledge and customer base will accelerate the adoption of our novel technology.”