Pilot project on service development for manufacturing companies

This year researchers at CTF and Swerea IVF will be working on a model and approach for the development and delivery of customized industrial services. The collaboration will be carried out along with three local companies from the region who have been selected in cooperation with ALMI företagspartner i Värmland. The project participants had a start-up meeting in late April and the service development process has already started.

- By exchanging experiences and identifying each other’s respective operations, we hope that during this collaboration they will find new opportunities to broaden and package their offerings, says Lars Witell, who along with fellow researcher Nina Löfberg represent CTF in this project.
One of the participating companies, Swede Rehandling Systems AB, has produced containers for the recycling industry, sanitation companies, foundries and other industries since 1989.
- After 26 year in the business it is time to develop and strengthen our brand. Participating in this project to develop services around our business is right for us. I am looking forward to learning how to look at things in new ways, to think in new ways and to benefit from others’ experiences and knowledge. I want to able to share my new knowledge and experiences with our employees’ thus the company becomes more profitable. I hope for a big change for our company, a change that I know already has begun. We at Swede Rehandling Systems AB are ready to meet the world of service innovation, says Eva Nilsson, Sales Manager and Founder of Swede Rehandling Systems.
Other companies participating in the pilot project is Inission, a total supplier of manufacturing- and logistics services within advanced industrial electronics, along with Cellcomb, manufacturer of environmentally friendly laminate disposable products for the health-, medical-, and food industries.
Barbro Lagerholm, Swerea IVF is the Project Manager for this pilot project, says that initially the plan is to get common dialogue started, to exchange experiences between the participants and to get them to think in new ways. Following that, individual visits to the companies and mapping of their activities will be conducted. An analysis of the survey will be done together with the researchers involved in the project. We will be working on opportunities to further develop and repackage existing product concepts and services, and also the hatching of new ideas. Throughout the year, project participants will have several group meetings to exchange their experiences of the ongoing development process at their respective businesses.
The work is conducted within the research and innovation project “Advanced service development for the manufacturing industry”. The project is funded by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas and is included in the Strateic Innovation Agenda Produktion2030, whose goal is to create a national base for research innovation and training towards competitive Swedish production by 2030.