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38 InnoVAtIon MAnAGeMent when barnacles, mussels, bacteria, and fungi adhere to the hulls of ships, the results are expensive. Frictional resistance and fuel consumption increase, and the hulls have to be cleaned and repainted regularly. tin-based biocidal paints are banned, and even copper-based coatings have some environmental impact. Here, substitutes are being sought that protect the environment and have an exceptionally long service life elements39 Issue 2|2012 333 polymer-based coatings, and adhesive agents, as well as additives for coatings and lubricants. The employees of Coatings & Additives are active at 21 production sites and technology centers worldwide. In 2011, the business unit achieved annual sales of more than €1.7 billion. For New Business Development, the most attractive applications in the field of classical coatings are those that depend on a technology for their third function, behind color and protection. These func- New functionalities sought tions can be self-cleaning or anti-fouling properties, but also heat-repelling, electrically conductive, or other properties. Often, they are based on nanostructuring that, combined with the polymer expertise of the business unit, produces thin functional layers. “With functional coatings, the innovation and the new business activity doesn’t necessarily translate into large production volumes but into the value generated by the user,” explains Fengler. This has a number of advantages that limit the risk of a project. Coatings in the range of a few nanometers require only pilot-scale production facilities, so investment costs remain manageable. “For the business unit, then, this is a new way of thinking and working,” says Fengler. In the field of crosslinking technologies, the most attractive applications are in composites for lightweight construction. whether wind turbine, sailboat, or helicopter, the importance of composites for structural components is growing, because they combine low weight with high mechanical stability. Coatings & Additives investigates how the business unit’s expertise can be used to develop high-performance composites Nine employees work in the New Business Development Functional Unit at Coatings & Additives, including project managers and those involved with conceptualizing new ideas. These are chemists, physicists, and business managers, all of whom are communicative and open to new ideas. “They are team players, who are able to establish networks across organizational boundaries,” says Fengler. Different kinds of employees are sought for a job in New Business Development, including inventors, the technically minded, entrepreneurs, project managers, developers, and marketers. The inventor embodies high creativity and scientific curiosity. The technically minded are experts in certain technologies and possess analytical skills. Willing to take risks, the entrepreneur contributes skills in networking and “selling” ideas. The “project manager” type stands out for leadership qualities and structured thought. The developer applies technical know-how and persistence. And finally, the “marketer” type contributes a broad-based understanding of the markets, as well as the ability to persuade customers. These complementary abilities are necessary for the concrete work of opening up additional business. “Because vague ideas can’t produce results,” says Fengler. Even worse, various independent studies have shown that innovation projects involve a high level of risk, and, in the end, only a small percentage of ideas actually reach their goal. But because success is easier to sell than failure, New Business Development has to know how to handle this demoralizing reality. “We acknowledge it when employees take on risky projects whose outcome is impossible to gauge,”
says Fengler. “And we don’t allow projects to die as soon as we begin to encounter problems.” Despite a culture that allows for mistakes, the projects of New Business Development are subject to strict project management. As a rule, a steering commit tee evaluates the progress and detailed plan of a project each quarter. Scenario projections, which are continuously updated, are a way to assess the potential economic benefits of a project. To generate ideas for new business, New Business Development uses the full range of tools of innovation management. “It’s really important to allow the team to come up with crazy ideas and find inspiration from outside the company,” says Fengler. External input can come from consultants, customer workshops, or student teams that receive tricky problems to solve from <strong>Evonik</strong> through its networks. Not surprisingly, this also includes market analyses. New Business Development is currently exploring crowdsourcing: The team is using Internet-based networks of experts to clarify problems that cannot be solved based on existing know-how. “Oftentimes, this is a question of how experts assess the potential of a certain technology for a specific application,” explains Fengler. For an idea in New Business Development to become a project, it must show sufficient business potential. “We then develop a vision of how to expand a market, and pour over this repeatedly as time goes on,” says Fengler. If the project steering committee approves it, employees first develop a concept and then follow up with one or more laboratory tests. New Business Development also involves colleagues Each new idea is tested from relevant business lines at this stage, wherever possible. “Later on, if a business line is interested in taking on a project in its sphere of responsibility, it can do so,” explains Fengler. “Otherwise, we manage the projects all the way to market launch.” New Business Development is currently managing about a dozen preliminary projects—projects that are in the evaluation and conception phase, and in which colleagues from the operative units of the business unit are already involved. At the same time, New Business Development is managing a few projects that already have significant development resources. “Some of these,” says Fengler, “will hopefully bear fruit over the next five to ten years.” 777 InnoVAtIon MAnAGeMent dr. stephan Fengler heads the New Business Development Functional Unit in <strong>Evonik</strong>’s Coatings & Additives Business Unit. After studying chemical engineering at the Mendeleyev University of Chemical Technology of Russia and earning his doctorate at the Technical University of Berlin in the Department of Polyme ri zation Technology, he began his career at Röhm GmbH in Darmstadt in 1995. Fengler held several positions in the Research, Production, and Marketing unit before assuming his current duties in 2011. +49 6151 18-4974, stephan.fengler@evonik.com 39 elements39 Issue 2|2012
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