Valmet boosts the development of future field services with Innovation Competition
May 21, 2018
In March, Valmet launched an Innovation Competition to find fresh ideas and new partners for the development of future field services. The competition was culminated at the Demo Day held in Jyväskylä on May 19th. The four winners of the competition were Tieto Finland Oy, Flyability SA, and two combined teams of Vizibler and VimAI Oy, and Konecranes Oyj and Noiseless Acoustics Oy.
Winners of the Valmet Innovation Competition (from left): Tieto Finland Oy/Mika Pitkänen, Konecranes Oyj/Petri Asikainen, Noiseless Acoustics Oy/Kai Saksela, VimAI Oy/Marius Noreikis, Vizibler/Samppa Ruohtula, VimAI Oy/Ismo Olkkonen and Flyability SA/Mathieu Noirot-Cosson.
The scope of the Innovation Competition was set on maintenance services, shutdown services and training of field workers. The focus was on safety and efficiency.
"We believe that Field Services is a true game-changer. Through the Innovation Competition we wanted to find out more about the possibilities the new digital technologies offer to further improve the efficiency and safety of our field services," Ari Saario, VP, Research and Development at Valmet, chairman of the jury, says.
The Innovation Competition was the first of this kind for Valmet.
"The competition attracted over 60 companies to share their ideas with Valmet and I want to thank all the participants for their contribution. I'm extremely satisfied with the innovativeness of the ideas and the well-prepared presentations we saw at the Demo Day. Me and my colleagues are really looking forward to starting our joined projects with the winners," says Tuula Ruokonen, Director of Digital Service Solutions at Valmet.
Collaboration is the key for developing new solutions
For the contestants, Valmet Innovation Competition was a great way to demonstrate their ideas and receive feedback from Valmet’s representatives. All teams were nominated a coach with whom they could prepare their presentations for the Demo Day.
“It was truly interesting to learn about the innovative ideas companies presented during the competition. We decided to nominate several winners, because we think the key to outstanding new solutions is to combine different ideas and develop them further to complement Valmet’s own development initiatives. Key criteria in the evaluation were the usability and innovativeness of the idea, as well as its business potential and customer focus,” Saario says.
The competition was organized in co-operation with an innovation consulting company Spinverse. The finalists participating in the Demo Day were Process Genius Oy, Flyability SA, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Noiseless Acoustics Oy and Konecranes Oyj, Eligo.Studio Oy, Tieto Finland Oy, VimAI Oy and Vizibler, Rumble Tools Oy, and Viimatech Digital Oy.