Why did you move into the LIT Open Innovation Center?

We were particularly attracted by the unique networking of industry, research and universities. Here at the LIT Factory, we have an opportunity to collaborate with industrial companies along our entire value-added chain and openly exchange information easily with institutes or spin-off companies at the JKU. The icing on the cake is that there are ongoing events about current hot topics ranging from predictive maintenance for industrial applications to developing digital business models. You never stop learning!

What makes Greiner Technology & Innovation unique?

We are professional ‘crystal ball gazers’, so-to-say. On the one hand, we have the innovation projects at our four divisions which improve products and processes around the clock or further develop them into new solutions. However, we also know that in order to ensure long-term survival and growth, we must develop opportunities for future business just as professionally as we expand existing business areas. Therefore, we are looking for completely new ideas and technologies for Greiner and for "solution-worthy" problems, and are testing their suitability for current and future business areas. This requires some agility and courage because success is harder to predict than ever before.

What is currently your favorite project?

One of our favorite projects is our Incubator: Using a ‘company builder’ concept, we have defined the organizational framework for a holistic innovation strategy. This starts with a search for weak signals, meaning detecting opportunities early, and ideally ends with an unconventional, innovative product and a scalable business model. Another trend-setting favorite project is being launched as part of CHASE and the LIT Factory. Together with other companies such as Borealis, Erema or Engel, we want to make the recycling process measurable and controllable in order to be able to produce consistently high-quality new products in the end. This way, we want to ensure that sustainability and plastics are not a contradiction in terms.

What new opportunities does the OIC bring to research?

Here we have the fantastic opportunity to break out of the commonly found ‘silo mentality’. If we communicate our challenges openly, we have the opportunity to tackle new projects from the very beginning across industries and develop innovative and sustainable solutions with new perspectives.