Innovation Challenge 160
The Innovation Challenge gives employees the opportunity to present their business ideas to Group management and develop them further. The 160th anniversary edition not only broke the record for participants, but also sent a strong signal in the midst of the pandemic.
Anja Metzger, March 25, 2021
2020 was not only a global crisis year, but also an anniversary year for Bühler: In 1860, Adolf Bühler founded the iron foundry in Gupfen (later Uzwil). Thanks to continuous innovation and customer orientation, Bühler could look back on 160 years of successful history last year. But our anniversary had more in store: the fifth Innovation Challenge, which has been held every two years since 2012.
When the Corona pandemic put CEOs around the world on alert in the spring, cancelling the 2020 Innovation Challenge was never up for discussion. “A lot of companies react defensively in a crisis and stop investing,” says CTO Ian Roberts. “But we told ourselves: now more than ever! Only with innovation can we come out of this crisis stronger.” After all, it was the unmatched drive for innovation over more than a century and a half that has brought Bühler this far.
Appropriately named Innovation Challenge 160 (IC160), the Executive Board last June challenged all employees worldwide to propose business ideas that would reduce waste as well as energy and water consumption in the value chains of our customers by 50%. This was in line with the pledge made by Bühler at the Networking Days 2019.
What followed were records. Some 7,000 colleagues got involved, and 418 ideas were submitted by the registration deadline. After an initial selection, 103 teams presented their sustainable ideas to regional juries in five roadshows. The teams were either physically present or virtually connected – travel was not possible in many regions.
The selection criteria were clear: The innovations should make our customers more successful and the value chains more sustainable, while at the same time opening up new business for Bühler. Based on these criteria, a total of 33 teams qualified for the “Collaboration and Voting Phase”. In this phase, 4,285 colleagues voted for the idea they wanted to send to the “Acceleration Phase”.
Eight teams made it, including a customer service for calculating and reducing the carbon footprint and an AI-supported (artificial intelligence) optimization of the drying process in malt houses. Team members participated in the three-week Acceleration Program, a kind of virtual boot camp for further development of the business plan. “It was impressive to see what a motivated team can achieve in just three weeks when supported by the company’s management with a tailored program,” says Daniele Lorenzi, who participated in the program with his REnergy idea (discover more about the ideas below).
by Oudi Zhao bases their idea on a solid-state transistor-based RF technology, which can revolutionize the conventional thermal process. This thermal treatment consists of conventional heat sources (convection, radiation), radio frequency (RF), sensors, and a central control system.
by Jia Lin Xu uses sputtering technology to help photovoltaic cells achieve higher power generation efficiency. This solves the problem with poor mechanical durability of porous silicon oxide which is coated via sol-gel method.
by Jay O’Nien focuses on a service for customers to assess and reduce their CO2 footprint. The idea is to provide tailored recommendations with concrete actions based on real-time, verified CO2 quantifications.
by Michael Rittenauer aims to reduce CO2 emissions of drying in malting plants by using machine data for AI-inspired process optimization.
by Sudhir P. wants to introduce a new drying process for paddy, pulse and maize millers to reduce fuel, energy and water consumption.
by Daniele Lorenzi is a modular concept for implementing high-temperature heat pumps for waste heat recuperation in thermal Bühler applications.
The final on November 10 was as innovative as the ideas. For the first time, the event was held entirely virtually, with the eight teams dialing into a Microsoft Teams call and appearing before the panel of judges made up of members of the Corporate Executive Committee. “The quality of the presentations was impressive,” remembers Ian Roberts, and adds: “We could literally feel the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit at Bühler.” After lengthy discussions, the jury announced the winners: Not just one, but six of the eight teams will now be given the opportunity to implement their business ideas.
Three of the six teams convinced the jury all along the line with their business plan and were able to get started straight away. The other three groups are on the right track, but will work with their mentors to make certain adjustments to their business plans. In June 2021, a balance sheet will be drawn up: How far have the teams come? Who is having the greatest positive impact on our customers’ value chains? The Mosaic team will, of course, stay close to the developments and will continue to follow the teams’ journey in the coming issues.
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