The FPCUV analyzes the Valencian path of innovation through companies that innovate successfully

The presentation of the INNpresa report was held on February 24 at the Marie Curie Auditorium of the Parc Científic de la Universitat de València, an event inaugurated by Pedro Carrasco, director of the Parc Científic de la Universitat de València; Andrés García Reche, executive vice president of the Valencian Innovation Agency (AVI), and moderated by Kristin Suleng, head of Communication and Marketing of the FPCUV.

The first edition of the report is characterized by an in-depth analysis of how innovative companies are able to extract positive business results, the way in which they incorporate knowledge into their organizations, the formulas to apply them to new products and processes, as well as new forms of organization and management, the procedures they use to drive innovation processes and monitor their progress, how they attract talent for innovation to their organizations and some practices to innovate successfully.

In this sense, Carrasco defended that both PCUV and AVI "work with the conviction that innovation represents for the Valencian society a valuable strategic tool for its ability to promote the development of the territory and for something as important as creating quality employment and wealth." "The purpose of the INNpresa initiative is to show and analyze why and how Valencian companies not only innovate, but also do so successfully, with the aim of making them a benchmark for other local companies to follow," he added.

García Reche stressed that "good lessons should be learned from those who are doing things well so that they can be extended to the productive fabric, not only to make reports or speeches, because it is all very well, but there comes a point when it stops. Here we must try to make the productive fabric compete through innovation, and that involves all the productive sectors of the Valencian Community." 

"If the companies that are successful thanks to innovation were generalized and there were many more that followed their path, then we would give that boost we need and that would be good for us to be leading region internationally," José María Mateu, co-author of the INNpresa report

Andrés Gracía Reche, executive vice-president of the Agència Valenciana de la Innovació (AVI). PHOTO: PCUV.

The first presentation of the day, entitled 'What can we learn from the success of innovative Valencian companies', was given by José María Mateu, associate consultant at Tradigenia, and Miguel Estruch, co-founder of Viromii Innovation, who presented the conclusions of the INNpresa report, of which both are authors.

"If the companies that are successful thanks to innovation were to become widespread and many more followed their path, we would give that boost that we need and that would be good for us to be a leading region on an international level," explained Mateu. In order to boost this trend in the Valencian Region, the authors of the report advocated asking those who make successful innovation, and how they do it.

In this line, after the completion of the study, 14 conclusions were drawn, which are: EVIEs (Valencian Successful Innovative Enterprises) drive innovation from the company's management; extend innovation to their entire organizational culture, and not just to a particular department or functional area; properly conceptualize what innovation is and what it can do for them; define their challenges intelligently; guide their innovation through comprehensive and updated market information; align the innovations to be implemented with the company's strategy, ensuring their greatest impact; embrace the paradigm of open innovation, and engage in collaborative R&D and innovation projects.

Likewise, EVIEs access a broad spectrum of technologies, either directly or through partners of a very diverse nature; deploy relevant and sometimes even creative efforts to incorporate talent into their organizations; incorporate innovations of an organizational nature, such as innovation in business models; apply digitalization to their innovation processes; appoint project managers to lead their innovation initiatives, in charge of monitoring their progress; use specialists, already available in the Valencian innovation ecosystem, to undertake specific steps of the innovation process that are less natural to them; and finally, measure the impact of innovations once they have been implemented.

The keys to being a successful innovative company?

To exemplify the conclusions in the INNpresa report, the FPCUV organized a round table discussion as part of the presentation, which under the title 'What do you have to do to be a successful innovative company?' brought together Javier Calpe, director of the Analog Device design center; Remedios Mellado, technical director of Industrias Afrasa; Laura Navarro, director of Operations at Bioithas; Tina Gama, CEO of Teralco Group, and Alexis Nadal, CEO of Nayar Systems. All of them, heads of companies in the Valencian Community that have successfully applied innovation in their ecosystem.

One of the points that marked the round table was the importance of innovation as a pillar of competitiveness in each of the invited companies, and is that for Mellado, whose company is framed in the phytosanitary sector, explained that they are "very tied by regulation," so "it takes us a long time to put a product on the market." "This leads us to the fact that innovation, being a small company, you cannot do it alone and you usually do it as a team with other companies in the same sector through collaborative working groups or also called task force." Mellado pointed out that in order to differentiate yourself "you can be more competitive in the sector by making specific uses of that product, which is the key to innovation."

In the case of Nayar Systems, a firm dedicated to the field of IoT applied to elevators, Nadal confessed that he likes to say that "the company was created with an innovative product or service, right from the start, so we carry a label with honor, because without innovation we would not have been born." "Somehow, having to change all the equipment that elevator operators had was very complicated, and we did everything in the cloud directly, so no one had to have phone lines or modems, and we were compatible with most devices and that was a disruptive innovation in the market, no one was doing what we were doing," explained the CEO of this technology company.

Along the same lines, Navarro pointed out that for Bioithas "innovation is a fundamental and basic pillar," in fact, he stated that "without it the company would not exist," since they are dedicated to designing a probiotic product for use in atopic dermatitis. "This was something very disruptive, because until now atopic dermatitis is treated with drugs, and this is a nutritional supplement, so it is much more innocuous," insisted Navarro, while affirming that his company "would have no place in the market if it were not for innovation, since competition in the world of nutritional supplements is extremely high and we have to differentiate ourselves in some way."

"This leads us to the fact that innovation, being a small company, cannot be done alone and is usually done in teams with other companies in the same sector through collaborative working groups or also called task forces," Remedios Mellado, technical director of Industrias Afrasa.

The role of technology in innovation

For Calpe, technology becomes for Analog Devices "at the center" of innovation, and for the chip company "it is important to understand what are the difficulties of your current or potential customers, and try to see how you can help them improve and can offer better products, cheaper solutions, more robust, that meet certain regulations, and above all try to do better for your customers will be better for you," because he added that "ease of use is becoming increasingly important in many aspects."


Thus, the CEO of Teralco Group, pointed out that "the key is to understand that technology has to be a facilitator, not the objective. In fact, innovation can occur in the earliest stages without having anything to do with technology, unless the innovation is purely technological, but the need for that idea, the challenge to be solved, the thought that there is a little beyond. Perhaps it is the most innovative thing, technology should be the accompanying means to make that possible," defended Gama.

"The key is to understand that technology has to be an enabler, not the goal," Tina Gama, CEO of Teralco Group.

The round table closed with the different assessments and recommendations to entrepreneurs by the speakers, and for Gama, "you have to look at the world with your heart, that is, look with enthusiasm at the challenges to be solved and see that it is technically feasible to do them, but then you have to project innovation with your head." A reflection that Nadal seconded, to which he added that "to the people who doubt whether to undertake or not to undertake, I would like to say that nowadays undertaking has less risks and there is much more help than in other times."

Likewise, Navarro stressed that "there is a place for everyone", although she warned that "there are risks, but if one is realistic, is prepared, trained, has clear ideas and makes a previous study, then I think it is possible". Along the same lines, Remedios Mellado encouraged everyone "to face new challenges and always look ahead, but with a little head. If you really can't go all the way, you can go step by step or with an open collaboration." Finally, Calpe recalled a financial failure that later became the company's biggest project, and that is that "if we had not had that failure, we would not have been in a position to be able to respond to that challenge that became a very important project. Sometimes you have to do things right, but sometimes it comes out in the second derivative."

Rosa María Donat, vice rector of Innovation at the University of Valencia. PHOTO: PCUV.

Achieving innovation

Rosa Donat, Vice Rector for Innovation at the University of Valencia, was in charge of closing the event. During her speech, she emphasized the most important details that had been highlighted throughout the day. "The report is based on the proven evidence that companies that use innovation to achieve or maintain competitive advantages contribute significantly to the creation of wealth and quality employment. Innovative processes are not only desirable in a company, they are also possible, and their effects are tangible," concluded Donat.

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