A young, dynamic environment focused on finding cutting-edge solutions in terms of materials, production processes, products and markets. This is the Techno Innovation Team, Techno’s new internal division made up of figures specialised in the various engineering sectors, whose task is to research and develop disruptive, sustainable and high added value projects.

The drivers of innovation

The group’s activities focus in particular on research into new materials, the implementation of processes and technologies, and the development of innovative solutions in critical or highly standardised application areas. As well as in terms of processes, the result is extensive research into standards and certifications, and UX design in terms of ergonomics, functionality and ease of product installation.

This is confirmed by the words of Giulia Bertolini, materials engineer, the first to join the team. ‘Innovation in products and production processes is necessary to ensure the economic and financial growth of companies, but it only makes sense if there is an impact on the market.

One of the challenges we are working on concerns electrical connectors suitable for aggressive operating conditions both mechanically and chemically such as Atex, HACCP, agriculture and other industrial processes. Following the identification of market needs, we will search for the specific materials best suited for that particular use, and then define the appropriate connector design.

Our strategy is to take advantage of the collaboration with universities or technological research centres of excellence in the area as much as possible, which will let us bring all the innovations we are working on to the market in a reasonably short time’.

Integration and autonomy

The new division is at the heart of a synergistic system involving R&D, production, the Quality Department and the Techno Innovation Lab, the new facility equipped with measuring instruments and machinery for carrying out mechanical, thermal, accelerated ageing and hydraulic stress tests.

It also has its own budget, which can be spent on feasibility studies, preliminary analyses, synergies with universities, eternal laboratories, third-party organisations, incubators and business networks. In addition, the group can submit to the company the prospect of further investment in specific facilities and equipment for the production, testing and approval of products.

Internal start-up

‘The Innovation Team is called upon to operate at different levels, even in discontinuity with acquired processes and knowledge. It was decided to give the group a precise identity within the company organisation chart, rather than integrating the individual specialists into the various pre-existing areas to keep them as focused as possible on innovation. The possibility of managing their own budget will also allow them to better focus on the opportunities to be seized in all areas that require streamlined and flexible organisational models and decision-making processes,’ said Mauro Nodari, Head of Product Marketing & Business Development at Techno.

‘In this sense, it can be considered in the same way as an internal start-up, one equipped with the right resources and requirements to face the challenges of today and tomorrow with determination and creativity’.

All members of the Innovation Team regularly participate in training courses and activities aimed at enriching their skills, which in turn are shared with other company functions.