MQP was recently asked to contribute a short article to be published in “First Words” a regular feature in Aluminium Times journal. We chose to write about innovation and in particular our approach to establishing a culture and process for developing innovative products and systems for the aluminium casthouse industry.
In the article John Courtenay, the founder of MQP, explains that the starting point for innovation, for MQP, is always the identification of an existing need. The process then entails locating external expertise and funding a programme which will identify a solution and enable us to establish ownership of the intellectual property rights of an innovation. A final initiative usually involves presenting technical papers, co-authored with our external technical experts and customers describing the innovations, at the annual TMS Conference in the USA.
Peter Drucker, the renowned Management Consultant, once said “Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship”. In a similar vein Jack Clark, of Novelis, concluded in a recent article “Innovation is worthwhile, because, in the end, innovation is a key differentiator in the marketplace”.
MQP wholeheartedly agrees with both of these sentiments.
You can read John’s complete article as published in the September issue of Aluminium Times by clicking “First Words”