Production innovation as the engine of your business

Having a great product alone is no longer enough. The top performers among manufacturing and production companies also have the most advanced production processes. At the SMAFACC event, our director Joris Ceyssens delved into the vital link between product and production innovation. He also highlighted the specific role VINTIV plays in this. This article provides a summary of his presentation given at SMAFACC.

Product or production innovation? In practice, we observe that the smartest manufacturing companies find a perfect balance between the two.

Product R&D is crucial because it allows you to:

• Respond to specific customer demands.

• Create added value.

• Further expand your competitive advantage.

However, product R&D is inextricably linked to production innovation.

To turn your manufacturing company into a commercial success, a high-performing product is only half the battle. You must also be able to produce it at a competitive price. That price is the result of various factors, including optimized purchasing and low production costs.

Becoming a lead plant

The lowest production costs are achieved in highly innovative production environments, often referred to as lead plants.

A lead plant is the result of a best-in-class mentality and a relentless drive to constantly sharpen factory performance. Utilizing the best available technology is a critical component of this strategy, enabling these factories to remain competitive in a globalized market.

The management of these lead plants makes a difference by investing in production innovation and budgeting for production R&D alongside product R&D. This approach demonstrates a clear long-term vision.

Production as a driver for competitiveness

Companies must realize that a state-of-the-art production facility has a massive impact on their market position. We notice that the strongest companies see their production as the engine of their competitiveness. And not merely as a cost center.

R&D budgets must therefore support production innovation. This requires patience and vision, as investments in production typically yield results within one to three years. Often, the low-hanging fruit has already been picked, meaning perseverance is required to achieve the desired breakthroughs.

What do the lead plants of our customers have in common? Four key traits:

1. They have a strategic plan to become best-in-class.

2. They are driven to execute this plan rigorously to reach the top.

3. They are determined to maintain that leading position once they secured it.

4. Investments in production innovation form their foundation.

Alliances

Innovation is achieved by collaborating with knowledge centers and other companies, both within and outside your sector. By joining forces, even vastly different companies often discover they share identical challenges and that the outlines of potential solutions run parallel.

Such alliances bring fresh ideas and force you to measure yourself with companies using state-of-the-art technology. The mix of competencies in these project teams stimulates disruptive thinking and accelerates the pace of production innovation.

40 years of expertise in production innovation

To conclude, here is a brief overview of our role in this innovation story. A role we have been fulfilling for 40 years:

• We guide your business case and develop it into a technical solution.

• We design and build high-tech, custom-made machinery tailored to your case.

• We retrofit existing installations into state-of-the-art production equipment.

And we do so, by employing this toolkit:

• Business case analysis

• Support with subsidies and the financing ecosystem

• Proof of concept / pre-engineering / Technical feasibility studies

• Engineering of initial prototype machines

• Parts manufacturing and prototype construction

• Building the first production series

• Redesigning prototypes based on the learning curve

• Construction of duplicate machines (ramp-up)

What is SMAFACC?

This article is a summary of a presentation given by our director Joris Ceyssens at SMAFACC.

Each year, SMAFACC brings together expertise in digitalization, automation, and smart manufacturing. The conference is organized by Thor Park, POM Limburg, Agoria, Flanders Make, and Sirris.

Want to stay informed about the next edition? Follow their LinkedIn page for updates.