We at SIG meet Ricard Blaya

In this edition, we meet Ricard Blaya, Mechanical Engineering Manager at SIG, to hear about his journey, the innovations he has been part of, and his vision for the future of intelligent machine autonomy.

Please introduce yourself

My name is Ricard Blaya Vico, and I have recently taken up the position of Mechanical Engineering Manager and based in Barcelona. My team focuses on standardizing and improving the efficiency of pouch-making machines and the SIG motion series through new designs.

I joined SIG in 2012 as a mechanical engineering designer. During this time, I gained valuable experience and learned to overcome new challenges every day.

What excites you most about working in R&D?

The prospect of transforming ideas into real solutions, exploring the unknown, overcoming new technological challenges, and contributing to the future with every discovery is what excites me most about working in R&D.

Can you share an innovation or idea you’ve been part of?

It has been very rewarding to contribute to the development of the world’s fastest pouch-making machine, using mono-material and induction sealing technology.

In this project, we worked closely with our colleagues in Tilburg. While their team manufactures pouches with spouts for customers, we combined their deep product expertise with our machine design know-how. This collaboration enabled us to create a new machine model that significantly increased speed and efficiency.”

What do you see as the “next big thing” for our industry?

I believe the next major revolution in our industry will be intelligent machine autonomy: mechanical systems capable of making decisions in real time thanks to the integration of artificial intelligence, advanced sensors, and cameras.

Automating repetitive tasks is no longer enough; we need to develop machines that can understand, learn, and act autonomously in their environment.