Another milestone in the development of our company Moldsonics was marked by the visit of the Austrian Federal Minister Martin Polaschek today. Our innovative company, which was substantially supported in the initial phase by the FFG Spin-off Fellowship Program 2017-21 of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research(BMBWF), demonstrates the successful transfer of research results into groundbreaking innovations.
In the period from 2017 to 2021, the Spin-off Fellowship Program of the BMBWF has funded a total of 24 promising research projects, from which a remarkable 16 start-ups have emerged. One of these success stories is the founding of Moldsonics GmbH. Today, Federal Minister Martin Polaschek honored the company with his visit and once again emphasized the importance of the program:
"The impressive development of Moldsonics illustrates the significant contribution of the Spin-off Fellowship program to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation from research. It is precisely such success stories that show us how important and meaningful research funding based on research ideas is and that prove that every euro we invest in science and research is worthwhile," emphasizes the Federal Minister.
In view of its considerable success, the Spin-off Fellowship Program will now be continued until 2026, with a budget of 15 million euros. This is intended to further support the direct transition from scientific ideas to revolutionary innovations such as Moldsonics. The company Moldsonics, which received funding as part of the Spin-off Fellowship Program in 2018, was finally founded in 2021 by Bernhard Praher, Thomas Mitterlehner and Klaus Straka. Since then, we have been dedicated to the production of innovative ultrasound-based sensor systems that enable contactless monitoring and precise measurement of quality parameters in plastics processing, for example in the field of injection molding or extrusion.
Our team around the three founders developed a pioneering ultrasound-based sensor system that precisely records wear conditions and specific product characteristics during production. This leads to economically and ecologically optimized processing, which results in more accurate measured values, reduces waste and improves the overall quality of the end products.
Thomas Mitterlehner, one of the three founding members of Moldsonics, expressed his delight at the company's success: "The transition from the university research world to the world of entrepreneurship is undoubtedly a challenge. The support from the FFG Spin-off Fellowship Program as well as other advisory services such as tech2b proved invaluable to us budding entrepreneurs. The opportunity to anchor our research in the form of real products on the market is the greatest appreciation for our application-oriented research results."
Moldsonics is proud to have established itself as an outstanding example of a JKU spin-off in the plastics industry. The visit by Federal Minister Polaschek underscores the importance and triumph of university spin-offs like Moldsonics, which make a significant contribution to Austria's innovation landscape.