The shareholders of Derbigum had realised one very important thing: it’s not about where you are today; it’s about where you want to be tomorrow. Investing heavily in R&D at this point seems like a huge risk to take. However, in a mature and highly competitive market (where your mono-product offering will inevitably lose ground to new market offerings), growing the business via innovation is the only way forward.  Building on an already strong eco philosophy (recycling of products and commitment to energy efficiency), the company sought to tackle the problem of rising energy prices and environmental issues by focussing intently on products that would help their customers reduce their energy costs and limit their environmental impact.

 

The new management started hiring top engineering and scientific talent to develop R&D competencies, and began to instil an innovative culture throughout the entire organisation.  It quickly became clear that a new energy was permeating the organisation, with young engineers bringing in exciting new ideas.

 

Allocating dedicated multidisciplinary R&D teams (technical and commercial people) to each project meant that innovation was not solely product based, but also began to change production processes and the way the company works with partners and customers.  Gradually, the company underwent a transformation: “we kept what was good and reinvented the future.”