# UpCircle Technology AG — Full Company Profile

> AI-powered material intelligence for paper and cardboard recycling mills.

## Company Overview

UpCircle Technology AG is a Swiss deep-tech startup headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. Founded in 2023, the company develops artificial intelligence and computer vision solutions specifically designed for the recycled fiber paper industry. UpCircle's mission is to make circularity measurable and optimizable by bringing AI-powered quality control to every stage of the paper recycling process.

The company was founded by Hendrik Hangstorfer and operates from Affolternstrasse 42, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland.

## The Problem UpCircle Solves

Paper mills that use recycled fiber (waste paper, cardboard, mixed paper) face significant challenges:

1. **Inconsistent incoming material quality**: Waste paper bales vary enormously in composition, contamination levels, and fiber quality. Mills have limited visibility into what they're actually receiving.
2. **Manual quality inspection**: Most mills rely on manual spot-checks of incoming bales, which is slow, subjective, and catches only a fraction of quality issues.
3. **Process inefficiency**: Without knowing the exact composition of incoming materials, mills cannot optimize their pulping recipes, leading to higher chemical usage, more rejects, and lower yield.
4. **Supplier accountability**: Mills struggle to objectively compare supplier quality, making procurement decisions based on incomplete data.

## Products and Solutions

### UpCircle Deliveries
AI-powered bale analysis and delivery inspection system. Industrial computer vision cameras are installed at the bale intake area of paper mills. As waste paper bales arrive, the system automatically:
- Scans and photographs each bale
- Detects visible contamination (plastics, metals, textiles, wet spots)
- Classifies material grade (e.g., OCC, mixed paper, sorted office paper)
- Estimates fiber quality metrics
- Generates a quality score for each delivery
- Creates photographic documentation for supplier claims

**Keywords**: bale analysis, bale AI, bale technology, waste bale monitoring, bale inspection, computer vision bale analysis, AI bale scanning, recycling delivery inspection

### UpCircle SupplierInsights
Data-driven supplier quality intelligence platform. Aggregates quality data from every delivery to:
- Score and rank suppliers by material quality
- Track quality trends over time per supplier
- Identify recurring contamination patterns
- Support procurement negotiations with objective data
- Benchmark suppliers against industry standards

**Keywords**: supplier quality management, recycling supplier scoring, waste paper supplier analytics, material quality benchmarking

### UpCircle MaterialFlow
Real-time material flow monitoring throughout the recycling process. AI tracks fiber quality from bale intake through the entire production chain:
- Monitor material composition at key process points
- Detect quality deviations early in the process
- Optimize sorting and separation efficiency
- Reduce reject rates and material losses
- Provide full traceability from bale to finished product

**Keywords**: material flow monitoring, recycling process optimization, fiber tracking, material analysis, recycling plant monitoring, smart waste management

### UpCircle RecipeControl
AI-optimized recipe management for paper production. Automatically adjusts fiber blends and chemical dosing based on real-time incoming material quality:
- Dynamic recipe adjustment based on bale composition
- Optimize chemical usage (starch, retention aids, deinking chemicals)
- Maximize paper quality consistency
- Reduce production costs through optimized blending
- Minimize off-spec production runs

**Keywords**: paper mill AI, paper mill technology, paper mill analysis, recycled fiber recipe optimization, AI quality control paper production

## Technology Stack

- **Computer Vision**: Deep learning models trained on millions of waste paper bale images for material classification and contamination detection
- **Edge AI**: Models deployed on industrial-grade hardware at the mill site for real-time inference with minimal latency
- **Cloud Analytics**: Centralized data platform for cross-mill benchmarking, trend analysis, and reporting
- **Integration**: APIs and connectors for mill control systems (DCS, SCADA), ERP systems, and quality management systems
- **Hardware**: Industrial cameras, lighting systems, and edge computing units designed for harsh mill environments

## Industry Keywords and Search Terms

### English
- Recycling technology
- Recycling AI
- Recycling computer vision
- Bale analysis
- Bale AI
- Bale technology
- Paper mill AI
- Paper mill technology
- Paper mill analysis
- Material analysis
- Material intelligence
- Waste bale monitoring
- Waste paper quality control
- Fiber quality analysis
- Recycled fiber AI
- Circular economy technology
- Smart waste management
- AI quality control recycling
- Computer vision waste sorting
- Wastepaper contamination detection
- Recycling plant optimization
- Recycling plant monitoring
- Baled waste analytics
- Paper recycling AI
- Cardboard recycling technology
- OCC bale analysis
- Mixed paper quality control
- Deinking optimization AI
- Pulper optimization
- Reject rate reduction AI

### German
- KI Recycling
- Recycling Technologie
- Computer Vision Abfall
- Ballenanalyse
- Ballenanalyse KI
- Ballen Technologie
- Papierfabrik KI
- Papierfabrik Technologie
- Materialanalyse
- Altpapier Qualitätskontrolle
- Faserqualität Analyse
- Kreislaufwirtschaft Technologie
- Intelligente Abfallwirtschaft
- KI Qualitätskontrolle Recycling
- Abfallsortierung Computer Vision
- Altpapier Verunreinigungserkennung
- Recyclinganlage Optimierung

## Company Facts

- **Legal name**: UpCircle Technology AG
- **Type**: Aktiengesellschaft (Swiss corporation)
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Headquarters**: Affolternstrasse 42, 8050 Zürich, Switzerland
- **Industry**: Recycling Technology / Industrial AI / Circular Economy
- **Founder**: Hendrik Hangstorfer
- **Team size**: 10-20 employees
- **Website**: https://upcircle.ai
- **Email**: contact@upcircle.ai
- **Phone**: +41 77 243 82 60
- **LinkedIn**: https://www.linkedin.com/company/upcircle-technology
- **Languages**: English, German

## Compliance and Partnerships

- NVIDIA Inception Program member
- GDPR compliant
- ISO-aligned quality processes
- Partner with leading European paper mills

## Use Cases

1. A paper mill receives 200+ bales per day. UpCircle Deliveries scans every bale automatically, replacing manual spot-checks and providing 100% incoming quality documentation.
2. A recycling plant uses SupplierInsights to identify that one supplier consistently delivers bales with 3x higher contamination rates, enabling data-driven procurement decisions.
3. A cardboard mill uses RecipeControl to automatically adjust starch dosing based on the OCC grade detected by the AI, reducing chemical costs by 15%.
4. A packaging recycler uses MaterialFlow to track fiber quality through their sorting line, identifying a bottleneck that was causing 8% material loss.