Gebrüder Weiss transports high-tech drilling robot to Texas for students at ETH Zurich / Lothar Thoma: "Hyperloop project underscores our commitment to the future of mobility"
At the 2023 "Not-A-Boring Competition" in Bastrop, Texas, at the beginning of April, the "Swissloop Tunneling" team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich won the top prize for innovative design. Sponsored by Gebrüder Weiss, the group of more than 40 students retained their title as the team with the most innovative design in this competition hosted by The Boring Company. In advance, the global transport and logistics company ensured the on-time and secure transport of the critical drilling technology from Switzerland to the USA.
"Investment in the future of mobility and in ways to improve sustainability is critical for us and the industry. We participate in projects such as the Hyperloop, the Mars Mission, the SubOrbital Express rocket mission and work to develop alternative drives because it amplifies the values of Gebrüder Weiss and puts them into action,” said Lothar Thoma, Managing Director Air & Sea at Gebrüder Weiss.
The final stage of the competition set five of the globe’s most innovative and ambitious engineering teams against each other to be judged in four categories: (1) fastest tunnel completion, (2) innovative design, build and/or test, (3) most accurate tunnel, and (4) tunnel with tightest curve. In addition to 2nd place overall, Swissloop Tunneling won the innovation category. The concept of the Hyperloop project is to transport people and goods at high speed over longer distances through tunnels under or above the earth's surface to their destination. The drilling robots must be as fast, compact, and as automated as possible to make tunneling financially feasible.
"Our team has been very lucky to have Gebrüder Weiss as our logistics partner for the past two competitions. Knowing that they hold similar values and believe in investing in the future of mobility adds to our team’s confidence, said Stefan Kaspar, founder and co-president of Swissloop Tunneling. “Over the past few years, we've all come to appreciate the critical role played by logistics companies in our world. None of this would have been possible without their support."
