Identify new areas of application for new business development

Inno Friction develops and produces industrial friction materials and was looking for a partner for new business development. The German company has its roots in the development and manufacture of clutch linings for cars. Nowadays, however, it is impossible to imagine many industrial applications without friction material technology from Inno Friction. 

Inno Friction was looking for new areas of application in order to open up new lines of business with its specialist knowledge. "Friction materials are the innovation and performance drivers of our company. Brake and clutch linings for drive motors or transport rollers with high temperature and pressure resistance are just two examples of the many uses of our technology," says Dr. Vera Rührup, R&D Director at Inno Friction.

We systematically searched for potential markets and fields of application for Inno Friction. The aim was to identify new markets that matched our core competencies. To achieve this goal, the first step was to identify pain points and perform a gap analysis. Our researchers delved deep into the world of friction technology and searched for analogous applications. This very quickly revealed the most promising markets outside our core business.

But that's not all: The next step was to elaborate areas of opportunity. They formed the basis for decision-making for our customer to analyze the most promising new business areas in more detail.

For the friction technology specialist from Hamm, the new business project opened up new perspectives for the use of their core competencies. As a positive side effect, we were able to identify additional potential applications for the existing machinery through the intensive examination of industries and technologies. 
Vera Rührup's conclusion on the new business development project: "During the collaboration, I appreciated the structured approach. Lead Innovation has shown us new business opportunities and how they interact with emerging trends."