By Chris Botha, Innovation Division Manager | Palloys 

Palloys announced the introduction of their new Innovation Division a few short weeks ago, and already there is excitement in the air.

Some may be wondering why Palloys needs a dedicated research and development arm. The industry has progressed significantly in recent years, what could there be left to create? Palloys believes the failure to innovate is to not prepare for the future.

This new department will serve four key purposes: to develop market leading technology solutions for our customers, to introduce new and innovative products and services to the Australian market, to improve the quality and consistency of our manufacturing (by upgrading equipment, facilities and process improvement), and to streamline processes to reduce turnaround times and minimise costs, with savings in time and money benefitting you, our clients.

The goal is for our new Innovation Division to ‘plug in’ to all Palloys’ services including Fabricated Metals, Findings, Design, Print, Casting, Refining, Diamonds and Finishing, and ensure our clients are getting access to the best products in the industry. 

 "The last mile"

Arguably our Innovation Division is about trying to see what “the last mile” looks like. 

The industry has already incorporated technology and has linked old processes with new.

Now is the time to engage with clients to meet their needs and take those learnings to the entire industry. We want to reverse engineer what the sector needs, so to speak. Look at what the tools and manufacturing arm now has and what they may need in the future. We want to employ this insight we gain as a key supplier in the Australian market while listening to our clients.

This way we help two segments at once.

Internally our processes become more efficient with our clients receiving a better quality product. Essentially, we power up our tools within, so we can solve problems on both sides of the value chain.

What we’re saying is that here at Palloys we are prepared to back emerging market demand from our clients' requests. We will push to deliver a better final product which will help guide our future processes. 

Think like your clients

While large chunks of our business are looking at improving efficiencies across the supply chain, a very small part will the ‘thinking and tinkering’.

Just because something has always been done that way, doesn’t mean it’s the only way to do it.

Our Innovation Division may be able to identify better ways of doing things. These are the easy wins.

The longer aspect – and arguably more risky aspect – is the cost of long term innovation.

Is there a new product that does not exist that should exist, and can we reasonably expect a customer to buy that? That can be a risk. You can go out and spend a lot of money on hope and a dream that you've built the thing that everybody is going to want…and it turns out the market has no interest in the idea.

Therefore, we must analyse the sector holistically.  

This can be a trap for anyone in innovation. Just because you want it doesn’t mean a client will.

Nonetheless I’m very excited to be heading up this department. We here at Palloys have spent years asking ‘what if’ and ‘can we’, yet we haven’t had the dedicated resources to execute all our ideas and proposed methodologies.

All smart companies understand that innovation is critical to progress. Palloys is thrilled to be at the forefront to help drive the industry forward.