The value of the integrated network services can be seen in the example of Danish company AddiFab ,which had developed the first sacrificial thermoplastic injection moulding platform to support the manufacturing of small/medium size, complex and traceable metal and ceramic components with high precision – STIM-MC. Their system reduced product development time and costs, while allowing the use of new cost-effective materials. The company believed that they would be in a strong position to exploit the rapidly growing metal and ceramic injection moulding market, forecast to reach 7 billion by 2022, and targeted an accumulated income of €167 million five years after project completion. The company had been helped by the Danish support system EU-DK Support from their original phase I application to the second phase. KAM Bogdan-Mihai Turcanu from the EEN office at Erhvervshus Sjælland helped AddiFab to concentrate the search for a relevant coach, which resulted in a perfect match with an italian coach, who helped Addifab create a market strategy, including detailed plans for pilot projects, strategic partnerships, business and market risk analysis, and financing.
Not only that, the but the company was helped with contacts to major companies Bosch Rexroth and Hasco, both suppliers of components for 3D printers, and cooperation was also started with German technical specialist Fraunhofer Dresden on RTD, Laurent in Switzerland, a major manufacturing company who can assemble the printers and CMG from the UK, a potential large-scale user. The support services enabled the cmopany to obtain investment Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation (MCHC) and Diamond Edge Ventures (DEV), which will speed up the rate of commercialisation post-launch. From 2016, to today, the company has grown from 3 to 16 staff.
The EEN has continued to work closely with the company and referred them to the Danish “Man on the Moon” programme, an ambitious programme for 20 companies only, with the ambition of achieving a turnover of 1 billion Danish kroner (ca. € 135 million) within 10 years . The KAM will provide assistance to identify sources of hard and soft financing, help to find private specialised consultancy services, assist with a professional advisory board, promote via relevant Danish communication channels and help to benchmark with international top competitors.
A good example of a successful EIMC case is that of Sigfreds Kaffefabrik, which has grown from the original two cafés in Aarhus, which won the regional best café awards seven times, to also include a nationwide coffee roasting and supply service. As part of their development, they were helped by EEN consultants Jakob Mikkelsen and Kathrine Vejgaard Stage from Agro Business Park, who carried out an analysis of their innovation management capacity, using the Innovation Health Check tool. The analysis covered all aspects of the company, but focused on segmenting their market, their planned marketing and automation of their processes including improved use of a CRM system. Segmentation was a key area and the company was able to assess which potential buyers brought the highest returns, and what the relative production cost was for each of them. This resulted in a faster time to market, reduced risks to the company and a higher profitability.
