PrintoCent History and Mode of Operation

First steps PrintoCent was started year 2009 as an three year program by VTT led founding members. From very start the determined goal was to get Strategic Advisor Board members onboard. The focus was to establish the manufacturing environment and manufacture prototype products and product demonstrators that are based on R&D results of the PrintoCent founding members, SAB members and other participating companies. The work started with following schema.

Mode of operation The idea of PrintoCent was to gather resources to support Lab-to-Fab product development and research and pilot manufacturing. Together with participating parties we have been able to define the whole value chain from materials and manufacturing to target markets and consumer experience. Simultaneously we have been working with educational institutes to ensure that there are skilled people to the needs of companies and research institutes.

PrintoCent has created a project portfolio of 15 M€ for years 2009-2012 to rise up the innovation center having its core in PrintoCent Pilot Factory, in creation in both technology and market driven demonstrators and in stimulating the new company and new business creation. As result 10 spin off companies have started until 2011 and there are new ideas in the commercialization pipeline having its birth in PrintoCent Business-Technology-Entrepreneurship –training programmes.

PrintoCent is based on strong regional research, but the project portfolio with its resources has been directed to push research and development results to commercially viable production processes, products and solutions. Often multi skilled, innovative and flexible approach to a matter at hand has been needed. This has been achieved by combining resources from R&D institutes, global companies and SME companies as subcontractors. Our target has been to achieve the target result even by using work-around.solutions, when needed.

PrintoCent has organized 3-4 innovation workshops each year to foster the ideas in the community and find candidate product demonstrator projects for realisation. A typical product demonstrator project lasts a few months, involves half a dozen people in 2-3 organisations. Project budget is from few thousands to tens of thousands of Euros. The continuity of most potential demonstrators has been ensured by starting proof-of-concept type of projects at a level hundreds of thousands of Euros.

Development of Pilot manufacturing environment has been the other corner stone of PrintoCent. The challenge to create new type of machinery has led to a remarkable specification work and investment level as the lab-to-fab environment has been built. This unique PrintoCent Pilot Factory will serve industry, research and education to minimise the risk to take the new type of machinery in use, to have a stable industrial `look` production environment available and to shave the latest technology i and it will serve research to provide a real scale

Market presence

PrintoCent has resources to take the manufactured demonstrators and prototype products to exhibitions and shows across the world. We have global presence and contacts through our community which are an invaluable asset to test product ideas and enter in trial market or consumer trial phase.

PrintoCent organised the PRINSE`10 Industrial Seminar to hear the voice of the industry and show the technology maturity and new type of product ideas by showing over 10 different kind of demonstrators to stimulate the ideas and further activities in commercialization. There will be next PRINSE