Inventables Guides Lamera’s Expansion into U.S. Marketplace
Lamera AB, a spin-off of Volvo Technology in Sweden, is the creator of Hybrix™, an innovative material that delivers all the benefits of stainless steel at a very low weight. Today, Lamera’s primary markets are aircraft interiors and portable consumer goods, such as luggage and portable computers. Other potentially lucrative markets include medical equipment, automotive components, food processing, furniture, lighting, and displays.
Back in 2005, Lamera was in its laboratory phase when the company was approached by one of Inventables’ researchers at the Materials Vision show in Frankfurt. Inventables wanted to showcase Hybrix on their online marketplace, as well as in Innovation Centers that present new materials and technologies directly to potential clients.
“It sounded too good to be true when we heard about what Inventables wanted to do with us, and in hindsight, it was amazing. It cost us, the vendor, absolutely nothing, and the return has been incredible,” said Mattias Grufberg, who heads up sales for Lamera.
Inventables does not charge companies to include their materials or technologies in its Innovation Center, it merely requests samples to send out to its customer base. “We tried those companies that charge you and the result isn’t nearly as good. Inventables has a better business model and it definitely increases your chances for business to come out of the opportunity,” said Grufberg.
Grufberg cites several specific reasons for why the partnership with Inventables has been so successful. “It’s amazing, we had no connections in the U.S. before we came to the attention of Inventables. Being featured with Inventables and introduced to their customers not only gave us a good introduction to learning about doing business in the U.S. in certain markets, but it also led to other opportunities that have become viable. For example, based on the interest we received from Inventables’ customers, we approached companies that are in similar markets and we are now in discussions with them. There is a huge value in what Inventables provided to us,” concluded Grufberg.
Results
Lamera is now working with more than 30 clients, seven of them based in the U.S. They credit much of their success in the U.S. marketplace to Inventables and the exposure they gained by being presented to Inventables’ customer base. So how does a company get noticed by an Inventables researcher?
“We are always on the lookout for materials and technologies that may be of interest to our customers. Part of our value is being able to see futuristic applications of materials and technologies outside of the industry where they are currently being used. We meet regularly with our clients to help them brainstorm and create differentiated products — something that’s vastly different than anything else out there. Companies like Lamera, who submit technologies and materials to us for consideration, are incredibly important to us, and we welcome submissions from companies out there who’d like to be evaluated by the Inventables team,” said Zach Kaplan, president and CEO of Inventables. For more information, log on to www.inventables.com