BOBST has awarded one of its employees a prestigious award today in recognition of a groundbreaking invention that he pioneered within the company.

Nick Copeland, Director of R&D at Bobst Manchester, is the recipient of the first ever BOBST Inventor Award for his work on the AluBond® patent, which was granted in the UK in 2019. AluBond® is widely recognized as a breakthrough, providing high metal adhesion and surface energy levels through vacuum metallization.

“After a thorough selection process, the decision committee agreed that Nick is a fully deserving first recipient of this award, as his work on this patent has led to significant benefits, both for BOBST and our customers,” said Alexandre Pauchard, Head of Group R&D at BOBST. “AluBond® is a truly outstanding invention that overcomes a relatively frequent issue for our customers, namely poor metal adhesion due to de-lamination. The positive feedback we have heard from customers is testament to the impact that Nick has made.”

The BOBST Inventor Award will be awarded on an annual basis to inventor(s) within the company – who may be at any stage of their career – whose patented work is deemed to have had the greatest positive impact for both the company and for customers.

“I am honored to have been given the inaugural BOBST Inventor Award,” said Nick Copeland. “It is great to work at a company that encourages and supports new ideas, allowing innovation to thrive. I want to thank all of my colleagues who were involved in the AluBond® patent. I hope together we can contribute many more innovations at BOBST, providing meaningful benefits for our customers’ businesses.”

The BOBST AluBond® process is an in-line hybrid coating technology which promotes chemical anchoring of the first aluminum particles creating a metallizing seeding layer that provides superior bond strength properties. It has been shown to greatly increase metal bond strength and metal adhesion on the most commonly used substrates (PET, BOPP, CPP and PE) during aluminum vacuum metallization.

“We rely on inventiveness and ingenuity to find new solutions for our customers, so it is only right that we recognize those pioneers whose inventions are the foundation of a stronger patent portfolio,” said Alexandre Pauchard. “We will continue to champion creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, wherever that is found throughout our organization.”