Sika and PERI investing in Zurich construction robot

The Zug-based construction chemicals company Sika and German formwork and scaffolding systems specialist PERI are investing in MESH AG. The startup is behind the first robot-assisted technology for the construction industry. This can be used to create 3D steel-mesh structures for different concrete structures on the basis of computer models. The production of complex forms for the building industry can therefore be realized in a material-efficient and cost-effective manner. Such complex or curved reinforcement cages previously had to be manufactured by laborious manual work. According to a PERI press release, the MESH Technology is the first of its kind in the world.

This new technique was developed in ten years of intensive research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), with MESH founded as a spin-off. In 2018, the Zurich researchers successfully produced a curved concrete wall at NEST, the modular research and innovation building of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in Dübendorf in the Greater Zurich Area. The technology has been transferred to an industrial construction process in partnership with PERI and Sika since 2019. This was followed by the founding of MESH AG.

“Through our collaboration with Mesh AG and PERI, a new type of construction process is being established on the market that enables the production of complex geometries and is more cost-effective than conventional methods,” commented Philippe Jost, Head Construction Sika. This will benefit the entire construction industry.