Altshausen, 5 May 2026 – STADLER Anlagenbau GmbH, the globally active German company specialising in the planning, production and assembly of turnkey sorting plants, presented its vision for the next phase of the recycling industry at IFAT 2026 in Munich, placing data-driven operations and optimisation at the centre of plant operations.
During its press event held on 4 May, the company presented its STADLERconnect platform, followed by a live, interactive demonstration highlighting how integrated digital solutions can enhance plant performance, availability and efficiency. The presentation brought together international trade media and industry professionals, reaffirming IFAT as a key platform for STADLER to connect with customers and partners from around the world, while showcasing its latest developments to a global audience.
Opening the session, STADLER’s Co-CEOs, Willi Stadler and Julia Stadler, welcomed attendees and outlined the company’s strategic direction, emphasising both its continued international growth and its evolving focus on digital solutions.
“IFAT has always been a key event for us to connect with the global recycling industry. It is also an opportunity to reflect on how our company continues to evolve. Today, STADLER is growing geographically, with new offices such as Japan and an expanded presence in markets like India and Poland. At the same time, we are strengthening our role as a long-term partner for customers worldwide. We provide both proven engineering and new capabilities shaped by evolving market trends and designed to meet customer demands,” said Willi Stadler.
“The recycling industry is entering a new phase. Data is now central to how plants are operated and optimised. At STADLER, we are evolving beyond plant engineering to enable more intelligent, connected operations. That’s why digital solutions such as STADLERconnect are becoming a core part of our strategy. They help our customers improve performance, reduce downtime and make better operational decisions,” added Julia Stadler.
The presentation then moved to STADLERconnect, brought to life through a hands-on Demo Loop experience at the booth.
Bringing digital plant optimisation to life through a hands-on demonstration
The second part of the presentation focused on STADLERconnect, the company’s cloud-based digital platform powered by real-time plant data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is designed to turn machine and material data into measurable improvements in plant performance.
At the centre of the presentation was the STADLER Demo Loop, a fully integrated setup built around a mini plant. Dr. Nils Kroell, Dr. Xiaozheng Chen, Heads of Digital Solutions at STADLER Group, and Dr. Bastian Küppers, Head of Process Engineering at STADLER Group, guided a walk-through of the system, showing how key process parameters can be adjusted and automation scenarios can be simulated. They also showed how these changes influence output material flows and the process performance monitored in real-time by STADLER’s AI Material Compass. The setup also showcased key applications including Predictive Maintenance, Blockage Detection, Downtime Tracker, Production Report and Adaptive Plant Control, highlighting how digital tools can directly influence plant performance.
“With our Demo Loop at IFAT, we move from simply explaining processes to demonstrating them in practice. It was developed specifically for IFAT to showcase our solutions in action: as visitors simulate real operating conditions, they can see how digital tools interact with plant performance in real time, shifting from passive monitoring to active process control,” explained Dr. Küppers.
This was followed by detailed explanations of the different stations and applications. STADLER’s approach to digital solutions combines process engineering expertise with purpose-designed hardware and advanced sensor technologies.
“As an OEM and turnkey plant builder, STADLER develops its digital solutions based on deep process and engineering expertise, integrating purpose-built hardware such as our AI Material Compass. This enables a level of data quality and prediction accuracy that pure software providers cannot achieve,” explained Dr. Kroell.
This approach is already delivering measurable results in practice. “STADLERconnect is already deployed in customer plants across nine countries, as well as at STADLER’s Test Center in Krško, Slovenia. With modules sold to more than 40 customer plants, the platform is enabling operators to achieve measurable savings by preventing unplanned downtime and automating quality control,” explained Dr. Chen.
“These capabilities demonstrate how a unified plant-wide platform can combine machine and material data to optimise plant performance. In specific applications, this has delivered measurable yield improvements of up to 18%,” added Dr. Chen.
The focus on measurable impact and operational performance was further underscored during the session. “With STADLERconnect, we are turning plant data into real operational impact. By combining our OEM expertise with purpose-built hardware and intelligent software, we deliver digital solutions that go beyond visualisation and drive measurable improvements in plant performance, availability and efficiency for our customers, as demonstrated at various customer plants,” concluded Dr. Kroell.
Expanding product portfolio and global presence to support market growth
STADLER also introduced a new product at IFAT, the Air Drum Sifter. This compact system combines a drum sifter with an integrated air separator, designed to handle heavy and light bulk materials. Through a precisely controlled airflow, the system separates materials into distinct fractions while helping to remove contaminants.
STADLER highlighted several recent developments supporting its continued international growth and strategic expansion.
In Japan, the company announced the upcoming opening of a new office, marking a significant step in strengthening its presence in one of the world’s most advanced recycling markets and enabling closer collaboration with local customers.
In India, STADLER is expanding its footprint in high-potential markets, with strong opportunities identified in both municipal solid waste and plastics recycling applications. To support this development, the company has recently appointed Rahul Bajaj as Sales & Country Manager for India.
In Europe, the company is reinforcing its presence through the recent appointment of Łukasz Tomsia as Sales & Country Manager for Poland, strengthening its commercial activities in the region.
From plant engineering to intelligent, connected operations
Overall, STADLER’s presence at IFAT 2026 underlined a clear strategic direction: from plant engineering to intelligent, connected operations. By combining its proven expertise in plant design with advanced digital capabilities, the company is helping shape the next generation of high-performance sorting plants, enabling customers to operate more efficiently, reliably and with greater transparency.
“This is a natural evolution for STADLER,” said Willi Stadler. “Our goal is to support our customers not only with engineering excellence, but also with the tools they need to optimise their operations and prepare for the future.”
