Since the 2nd of September 2020, SMELA GmbH is a registered company in the commercial register. Thus, after a long period of preparatory work, the founding trio has created a company out of their start-up project.

It all began in 2017 with the first functional model, which was created alongside the full-time positions at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg. With the help of the EXIST start-up grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the three-member team aimed to develop an innovative solution in the field of industrial automation. The problem was well-known: Industrial plants generally require many linear movements. The conventionally used pneumatic cylinders work with compressed air and waste up to 95 percent of the energy used.  

Based on this problem, the team led by Dr.-Ing. Denis Draganov developed a new type of linear drive that intelligently combines electrical and mechanical components and thus forms the most compact plug & play alternative to pneumatic cylinders. 

Picture: Chris Rössler, TUGZ Magdeburg