Project CrossCluster

FIBIC Seminar 2013

Jaakko Jokinen, Pöyry Management Consulting Oy

26.11.2013 CrossCluster

Good experiences gained in ClustertTech I & II projects

• Two multi-company projects called ClusterTech were carried out between 2006 and 2011

• Some ten major Finnish-based industrial companies from forest, energy, technology, chemical and waste management sectors took part in the projects

• Guiding principle was to initiate co-operation between companies over industry and technology borders to enable creation of new, concrete business rising from the need to rejuvenate Finnish industrial base by answering to global megatrends such as climate change and resource scarcity

• Both projects were successful particularly in showing that genuine, open co-operation is both possible (especially when direct head to head competition is avoided) and necessary when totally new products and business is launched to markets, that are new and unknown

• After ClusterTech I and II the global recession and change in balance of economic power continues to affect Finnish industries and the structural change in the forest industry and industries in the forest cluster has continued.

→ CrossCluster project was initiated in spring 2013

Background

26.11.2013 CrossCluster

Set-up of CrossCluster

• Compared to ClusterTech I & II, project CrossCluster takes place under the umbrella of FIBIC. FIBIC is the governing organisation to which the 50% TEKES funding has been granted

• VTT and Pöyry continue to act as the hired hands to perform the required tasks in the project focusing to large extent in the work done at company cases. Work is: market analysis, techno-economic calculations, conceptual level design end engineering, laboratory work and even ordering and shipping of exotic fibre samples. As the late founder of Pöyry Group Dr. Jaakko Pöyry said when shaking hands with a client: “we gör alt som behövs”.

• In the project, there are ten big companies (Metso, UPM, Metsä Fibre, Neste Oil, Wärtsilä, Nokian Tyres, CP Kelco, Gasum, Fortum and Sulzer) and six SMEs. All participating companies are entitled to one own company case – ideally companies would work together and combine their cases

• Inside the project, we have one bigger consortium, so called Lignin Pool where 5/10 big companies have combined forces to develop new business from lignin. All Lignin Pool companies have a natural place in the value chain either as manufacturing technology developer, feedstock supplier and material producer or final product consumer

CrossCluster

26.11.2013 CrossCluster

Where are we now?

• The project was kicked off in March this year and books will be closed in late 2014

• Some SME company cases have already been finalised but most of the work is underway

• The work is progressing well in general, with some of the SME cases there are challenges to manage the company expectations and available resources

• Two workshops for participating companies has been organised tackling topics such as the “impact of shale gas” and “company success factors”

• Intensive work continues and during the process, key messages from CrossCluster companies will be delivered to authorities shaping the business environment with their decisions

Status

26.11.2013 CrossCluster

Why do we need projects such as CrossCluster?

• Only change is permanent, permanency is an illusion (Herakleitos)

• Speed of change has intensified and will further intensify

• Competition has intensified and will further intensify

• Finland has become a country known for success in team sports (basketball, volleyball, floorball, ice hockey, team figure skating, team gymnastics…) – cross country skiing and long distance running are not the only sports we can be successful!

• Finland and Finnish business life needs strong teams that can work together, benefit from each others’ capabilities and build solid value chains around new products

• CrossCluster is an example of the type of co-operation that is required to enter new, unknown business territories with unknown competitors and other business fundamentals

• Genuine trust is required among companies to enable real, open and meaningful co-operation

Why

26.11.2013 CrossCluster