Mespack, a leading international manufacturer of innovative and sustainable flexible packaging machinery and turnkey solutions, and Spookfish, a deep-techn company specializing in multi-spectral vision and AI powered process monitoring for in-line quality control, have formalized a strategic partnership to integrate advanced thermal inspection technology into Mespack’s flexible packaging equipment.

As part of this collaboration, Spookfish thermal cameras and software technology will be seamlessly integrated into Mespack’s Athena digital platform, enabling Mespack’s Inline Thermographic Inspection (ITI) solution. The system allows 100% non-destructive, in-line inspection of pouch seals, thus helping manufacturers ensure consistent seal quality while avoiding production losses.

Inline Thermographic Inspection uses infrared imaging to analyze the thermal profile of seals immediately after the sealing process. By detecting deviations related to seal integrity, contamination, or process variability, the solution makes it possible to identify potential defects in real time. As a result, higher product quality and greater process efficiency is achieved.

Fully integrated into the Athena environment, the ITI solution offers a user-friendly interface and leverages AI-based algorithms to simplify operation and reduce the need for advanced operator expertise. Furthermore, the solution is designed to be retrofittable, making it compatible with both new and existing Mespack machines, with or without Athena. Consequently, customers are provided with a flexible and scalable quality inspection option.

“This partnership reinforces Mespack’s strategy of collaborating with specialized technology partners to deliver value-added solutions that respond to the evolving needs of the flexible packaging market,” Mespack said in a statement. “By combining Mespack’s packaging knowledge with Spookfish’s expertise in thermal imaging and software, the companies jointly offer a robust inspection solution for global consumer packaged goods manufacturers.”

Guillem Clofent, President of Mespack, said: “This partnership with Spookfish represents an important step in our strategy to integrate advanced inspection technologies directly into the packaging process. By combining Mespack’s packaging expertise with Spookfish’s thermal imaging and AI capabilities, we are able to offer our customers a robust, in-line quality inspection solution that enhances efficiency, reliability, and product integrity.”

Dr Anupriya Balikai, Managing Director of Spookfish, added: “Collaborating with Mespack allows us to bring our thermal inspection technology into real industrial packaging environments at scale. Integrating our solution into the Athena platform brings us one big leap closer to realizing the values of Industry 5.0. This human-centric, proactive AI-driven approach increases value in the production chain through continuous data-driven process validation.”