No matter the sector, companies that invest in innovation enjoy above-average growth (often in double figures) and export more than most of their competitors (generally accounting for between 70 and 80% of their turnover).
It is a fact - innovation adds value and is a development factor for companies that follow this strategy.
In a market that already has a plethora of products on offer and in which a ‘needs satisfaction’ approach is limited by a drop in the product renewal rate, there is a real opportunity to kick-start demand through creation and innovation. Many people suggest that households are reluctant to change, but the fact that 35% of household income is spent on products that did not exist four years ago gives this received idea the lie.

Yet the furniture sector still has a reputation for not being very innovative and this is probably due to the widespread use of traditional materials and techniques. It could be because the sector is mainly comprised of small and medium-sized companies that it lacks funds. Innovation requires real investment, but this is of course not only financial. It is above all intellectual and requires a good deal of common sense. Design and innovation also require time. Things need to be thought through in an age when, as everyone knows, time is at a premium. Innovation also means using technical resources. Although it is common knowledge that these companies’ size means they cannot afford a research and development department, what is strange is that they turn so little to the collective organisations they help to finance.
This newsletter is an opportunity to remind ourselves again (and again!) of how important it is for a company of any size and tradition, whatever products it makes, to come up with new designs and to innovate.

Gérard Laizé, Managing Director of the VIA

The 2009 edition of the international fair for suppliers of the furniture industry was held from 13th to 16th May in most of the Koelnmesse halls in Cologne. The major highlight this year was Interzum’s 50th anniversary, which was celebrated by a retrospective along the aisles of some of the history of furniture over the last few decades.
 

Biomimetism – nature as a source of technical solutions
Nature harbours a multitude of resources. In many cases, these technical solutions have been tested over millennia and have proved their effectiveness. Biomimetism draws inspiration from them to come up with answers to industrial problems. This approach involves artificially reproducing the essential characteristics of one or more biological systems.

After the first professional show of the year in Cologne, which had really shown the depth of the crisis on the German market, and Paris, which had lived up to its billing as the capital of design despite the sluggish domestic market, everyone was waiting to see how the Italians were shaping up…
       

Innovate at a time of crisis? You hadn’t considered it – or don’t dare? Now is the time to start… if you prepare yourself well. We run through the basic rules of good innovation.
“In a period of crisis, launching a new product or a new range can have a positive impact on what your balance sheet looks like, especially because – as IPEA reminds us – one third of households plan to invest in decorating and home improvements. That gives some indication of the opportunities that exist in our sector.”
 

Developing an innovative product or technique frequently requires funds. There are a wide range of assistance available, either for the initial stages of a project that could lead to establishing a company or through a reduction in corporation tax. When we say assistance, we mean a regional network of technological skills that go by the acronym RDT (Réseau de Développement Technologique – Technological Development Network) and grants.

www.clipso.com

CLIPSO is a range of high-technology wall and floor coatings that are made of a polyurethane-coated polyester canvas. This taut canvas can be customised by high-definition (300 dpi) digital ink-jet printing and can be up to 5-metres wide without any welding or sewing. At the same time, CLIPSO has developed a quick and simple laying system. It is available in a range of basic colours and comes with various properties (acoustic, translucent, antibacterial). These coatings are designed for moist, hydrophobic premises and are not affected by chlorine. It doesn’t blister, nor does it crack. It is antistatic, needs no maintenance, has good acoustic and heat insulating properties, and can be painted. It can be machine-washed.

binabaitel@yahoo.fr

This innovative process has been developed using a unique, patented technology, which makes it possible to print beneath the surface of synthetic surfaces such as elastomers. The printing is incorporated into the surface of the material at a depth of up to 50 microns. It has special, innovative sensorial, visual and tactile properties. The process involves injecting pigments into the material. The finished object is a mono-composite and the print is permanent.

www.corkdesign.fr

Cork Design markets a range of Suberis cork fabrics. Suberis has developed this material on the basis of Mrs Grindi’s invention, giving an innovative fabric made from cork that is as soft as velvet, as light as silk, washable, untearable, stain-proof, and water- and fire-resistant. There are very few other materials that can claim the same characteristics in terms of resistance, softness and multiple uses. Suberis fabrics come in various versions including classic, embroidered, plaited, and stretch.

www.arkema.com

The department of the Arkema group that specialises in molecular chemistry is currently working to develop self-repairing elastomers called Reverlink SH.
This innovative Reverlink SH material is regarded as a research material for the moment and is recommended as an additive to polymers. It gives polymers repairing and ‘scarring’ properties. This means that any break or cut in the elastomer can be repaired at ambient temperature by simply holding the two sides of the break together. Samples that have been repaired have immediately recovered their elasticity.