Research & Development

Optimising manufacturing and creating value through collaborative R&D

Smart, efficient and safe full-service project delivery for international organisations

The role of R&D in manufacturing

Your ability as a manufacturer to innovate and adapt to changing customer requirements and evolving market dynamics is crucial to staying competitive. For most manufacturers, the road to innovation starts with Research & Development (R&D). While enabling you as a manufacturer to achieve your innovation goals, the ultimate goal of R&D is the creation of value for your business.

R&D creates value in many different ways. This includes innovating new products or processes that may disrupt the market or transform production. It also includes improving existing products or processes that could result in productivity gains. Or it can be through helping the business achieve its ‘Green’ goals by developing sustainable packaging solutions, through energy efficiency initiatives, etc.

 

A collaborative approach to R&D

Many successful manufacturers have a dedicated R&D function in the business. However, they still engage external experts to work collaboratively on R&D, to share knowledge, exchange ideas and improve the outcomes from R&D for their business.

For an R&D team that is focused internally on the business, the cross-industry experience of external experts brings a fresh perspective and new ideas to the table. Furthermore, their knowledge of the latest technology, lessons learnt from what’s worked for your peers and understanding of best practice helps optimise your R&D process.

Different manufacturing firms have engaged our experts in the past to collaboratively work with their R&D team to deliver innovative yet practical solutions. While manufacturers without an internal R&D function have engaged us on specific R&D projects to meet particular goals. For example, a manufacturing firm involved in mixed waste plastic recycling wanted to develop a zero waste solution. The aim was to manage the detrimental impact of non-plastic recycling items, which were previously destined for the landfill. The manufacturer engaged us for the R&D project, where we developed solutions/processes that would either generate energy from residual waste or produce industrial by-products.

In another example, a manufacturer engaged us for an R&D project to design a new mixed metal processing system and develop a pilot that would prove the concept. This project resulted in the development of an innovative, highly efficient system that produced greater yields while reducing health and safety risks for the operators.

 

Creating value in the business

R&D creates tangible as well as intangible value in the business through productivity gains, sustainable solutions, intellectual capital, etc. Experience shows that this can be further enhanced through the sharing of knowledge and expertise by working collaboratively. If you are working on an R&D project, engage an external partner to get an independent perspective and fresh ideas into the business. To discuss how we can help you create more value through R&D in your business, contact us directly.

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We are a business that brings valuable skills, experience and creative solutions to challenging projects. We’d love to talk about your project.

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