From industrial clerk to project manager in the Innovation Centre - this path shows how diverse career opportunities are in the packaging industry. Marina Schedel started her apprenticeship at Multivac in 2009 and discovered her passion for packaging and material issues at the Innovation Centre. Today, she takes on a variety of tasks in the Innovation Centre.
At the headquarters in Wolfertschwenden, Marina Schedel and a team of application engineers, food technologists and material specialists support customers in choosing the optimum packaging concept. Tailor-made solutions are created in the Innovation Centre - from feasibility studies and prototypes to packaging analyses and sustainability assessments.
„Initially, I was responsible for organisational and commercial tasks as an assistant,“ says Marina Schedel. „But there were always students of food and packaging technology in the company - and that fascinated me.“ Without further ado, she decided to do a Study programme with in-depth practical experience at Kempten University of Applied Sciences, specialising in food and packaging technology. Multivac supported her with a model that closely dovetailed her studies and practical work in the company. She ended up writing her bachelor's thesis in her department - with a clear focus on sustainability, a topic that still characterises her professional activities today.
A workplace full of ideas and experiments
The Innovation Centre in Wolfertschwenden is also a kind of future laboratory for the packaging world. Here packaging solutions are not only developed, but also tested, analysed and put to the test. All kinds of machines are available for sampling, mainly thermoforming machines, but also traysealers and flow-wrapping machines, combined with a large stock of films, papers and new materials.
„The interaction between machine and material is crucial. Many customers think that if something doesn't work, it's down to the machine. But it's often the material. If the two don't harmonise, problems arise - and that's exactly what we want to avoid.“
Marina Schedel
The team carries out around 300 tests a year at the Wolfertschwenden site alone, A new test runs almost every day. Customers are often present on site in Wolfertschwenden, sometimes virtually via cameras.
The team is interdisciplinary: application engineers prepare the tests and carry them out together with the customers, food technologists assess shelf life and product safety, material specialists test plastic, paper or other materials. „This diversity is what makes the work so exciting. No two days are the same. We have Customers from all over the world, with different markets, trends and requirements.“
Sustainability as a compass
One topic has been on Marina Schedel's mind since her studies: sustainability. „The hot topic is, of course, recyclable materials. But it's also about reducing materials, because the cost pressure in the industry is high and less material also means lower costs,“ says Marina Schedel. Many customers want to switch to more sustainable materials, but expect the packaging to look exactly the same as before. „However, a change of material almost always means changesdifferent transparency, different feel, different workability.“ This is exactly where advice is needed.
In addition to the trend towards recyclability, she and her team are also concerned with the growing regulatory requirements. At European level, for example, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). „The regulations are becoming increasingly complex. Smaller companies in particular do not have the capacity, to deal with it intensively. They are therefore looking for our support - and that makes our role even more important.“
Innovation Centre globally positioned
Multivac has the Innovation centre concept rolled out internationally long ago - to Canada, the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, the UK, France, Romania, Poland, India, Malaysia, Japan, Australia and, in future, Denmark. Customers are advised everywhere and can check and optimise their packaging ideas. „We want to offer the same service worldwide - whether in Europe, Asia or South America,“ explains Schedel. „It's not just about technology, but also about cultural proximity. Our local colleagues speak the customers“ language - literally and figuratively."
A look into the future
What does the future hold for the packaging world? For Marina Schedel, there are three main topics: Sustainability, digitalisation and artificial intelligence. „Although AI is not yet a hot topic for our customers, we are already working intensively on it internally - for example in packaging design or digital features on packaging.“ The direction is clear: in future, packaging should not only become more sustainable, but also more intelligent.
packaging journal 5/2025
This article was published in packaging journal 5/2025 (October).
ePaper
read online
