Dr. U. König, Germany 8th European Forum on Eco-Innovation, Bilbao, Spain 20-21 April 2010 Making Eco-Innovation happen in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

Dr. U. König, Germany

8th European Forum on Eco-Innovation, Bilbao, Spain 20-21 April 2010

Making Eco-Innovation happen in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Needs of German Manufacturing SMEs

• Why we want to get in touch with SME?

• What do we want to transport?• Where are the SME?• What situation of the SME do we have to

face?• What has been done in the past?• What should be in the future?



CONCLUSION

Question: Why do we get in touch with SME?

The owner and leading circle must be involved, motivated

and addressed in the first place

More than the technical approach

Broad view over complex material and information flow

The competence of the all individuals in the company is

necessary for sustainable effects



Disposition

Storage

Cleaning

Material-efficiency

Docu-mentation

Construc-tion

Production

Logistics

packaging

Material efficiency

Route of arguing:

Action

Resource Efficiency as Focus of Considerations



Specific: Recycling and Rejuvenation

Working with partners across the resource efficiency loop:



Capability of Surface Finishing Industry for Eco-Innovation

• Chemical, Physical and mechanical properties• Technological competition• Enhancement of physico-chemical requirements• Availability of techniques• Prices (economical issues)• Restriction by patents• Classification like „green“ properties• Chemical policy and REACH• Standards (Customers and legislation, eg. DIN)



Situation of German Plating Branch

• Compile technological feasibility• Financing crucial - A lot of companies knows what to do• Activities depends on consumer acceptance

– e.g. automotive industry requires first sample reports to reach predefined requirements

– Change in production line could change requirements (important target)

• Legislation about resource efficiency is generally considered positive

• Prepare cooperation with our sectors – cross-sectoral solution with other coating technologies



Driving Force for Innovation

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

chemical- and environmentallegislation

qualitymanagment

costs and regulation of market

effectivness of platers

new relation between suppliersand users

replacement of hazard materials

lifecycle of process engineering

chances of micro- andnanotechnologies

< 5 Mio. EUR 5-10 Mio. EUR 10-50 Mio. EUR > 50 Mio. EUR



Financing of Innovation efforts

compensation of R&D

direct from orderer4%

partly from orderer29%

decreasingly from orderer

67%



Resulting Needs of SME Surface Finishing in Germany• Describe Benefit of companies and overall branches by resource efficiency

– New way of economic Thinking (not just sell – information and service becomes more important)

– Short termed savings – Long termed return of investment

• Favouring business solution for overall branch– Setup main cross-company focus of branches– Setup Benchmarks – Asking Companies about their Benchmarks– Reliable indicators – in order to make Systems comparable– Information about technological feasibility– Looking at the overall process along entire process chain– Adequate Marketing for motivation of companies– Including selected users (experienced and not experienced)



Needs - View of a Plating company

• Better regulation• EU meets the best companies to help their R & D

programs• The role of Associations and Consortia : not only

dissemination• Mantain the “spirit of Sevilla” in the relationships

between PA and Industries• Protect EU industry from asian competitors (forbid

the pollution outside EU borders)



Practical example:

A supplier of the automobile industry that has got 40 employees

produces textiles for cars‘ interiors. In the punching process

interlacing by optimisation software only took place based on

individual orders because the supplier was afraid to mix up the

different components.

Due to the use of digital sectional images in the following

sorting process it was possible to interlace across orders. As a

result of that, of the existing material 20% more could be used

in production. The cost savings are about 40,000 EUR per year.

-> Analysis of production line – better understanding



220.000saving potential (€)

average

potential/employees (€)

potential/turn over

3.400

2,5 %

plastic industry

number of pa potential

metal industry 154 2,26 %

process improvement

product improvment

262

41

29 2,46 %

2,24 %

3,26 %

other industr. branches 120 2,56 %

Results of Consulting Projects

Source: demea – support programme VerMat



Results of 303 consulting projects so far: saving potentials in relation to annual turnovers

Results of Consulting Projects

Source: demea – support programme VerMat



What should be done in the future?

• Demonstrating chances• Advise companies about specific technological

feasibility• Adequate Marketing for motivation of

companies (even those that are already involved)

• Sectoral energy certificates• Adapting standards and specifications



Motivation of SME by direct addressing

• What is your energy mission?• What technologies used?• What are current plans?• Plans and ideas of financing and investments?• Does Consumer accept changes?• Does changes in your production line cause changes

in requirements and functionalities?• What kind of tools could help?• Expectations towards intermediaries?



• Sectoral Challenges:– Bringing together the different ways of thinking in the individual areas and

detecting, defining and using value added in order to initiate innovation and R&D– Development of the market– Cooperation with bank houses– The current situation is comparable all over Europe, presumably worldwide– The technological focus depends on the local requirements

• Central topics of innovation:– process reliability, plant availability– process efficiency, component-adapted processes and installations– process measuring technology; process simulation– new plant designs; shortening of the process chain – upstream and downstream processes– Replacement of substances under discussion and/or supervision– quality management– logistics



To be taken into account

• Question: What do legislationwants from the SME?

• Avoid pressure – try to understand and cooperate

• Implementation and use of existing initiatives

• Trying to cooperate intersectoral• Use customers needs for

innovation processes• Help SME in understanding the process

– Own production line– General chances

• Make the help as simple as possible



Thank you very much for your attention

Dr. U. König, Germany 8th European Forum on Eco-Innovation, Bilbao, Spain 20-21 April 2010 Making Eco-Innovation happen in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

Documents

innovation slide

ecoinnovation chemical

european forum

experienced slide

din slide

eu borders slide

coating technologies

sustainable effects