Howard Wright along with Locus Research, Motovated Design & Analysis and Venture Taranaki hosted our New Plymouth Successful Product Development seminar which began with a tour of Howard Wright's R&D and Manufacturing facilities. The following seminar was aimed at businesses developing products or interested in developing new products and services, and presented an informed view on what it takes to develop innovative products that really connect with customers.

Anthony Batley, research and development manager for Howard Wright, gave a tour of the facilities and then talked about designing and tooling for efficient low volume manufacture in a competitive environment. He highlighted the importance of rapid prototyping and creating custom products to gain insights for development. Through this development, the Howard Wright team's own unique design language evolved based around what their customers valued and what they believe in.

Anthony's key points:

• Work closely with your customers & suppliers.
• Use technology appropriate for your volume.
• Work hard to maintain consistency and attention to detail.
• Maintain empathy with all end users and hold true to your brand promise.

Locus Research's Timothy Allan talked through the importance of a well thought-out design process that starts with good research, proceeds with a developed structure, and contains the values of culture and creativity. Tim introduced the concept of the Product System, a framework for insight driven product development. This includes defining a product and associated service and understanding the interactions and activities of users, purchasers, stakeholders, and influencers. Understanding and clearly defining the product system is an excellent start point for uncovering new and valuable insights.

Tim's key points:

• Research opens opportunities & reduces risks; it is the risk management tool
• Research creates the platform for great ideas and insights
• A good development framework or process enhances creative and business outcomes. Invest in your development process; it's a key instrument to help you navigate your way from insight to market.
• Culture & Creativity unlocks your potential. Learn from local heroes; spend time building and nurturing your team; set a clear and inspiring vision to ensure focus and results

Jonathan Prince of Motovated Design & Analysis, like Tim, talked about the benefit of a good design process to successful product development. He gave some excellent examples of getting it right and getting it wrong. Jonathan talked about the danger of designing products based on perception rather than research and fact. Jonathan also showed how tools such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA) can help companies save time and money by getting the design right before you cut the steel.

Jonathan's key points:

• Implement a robust development process prior to jumping in
• Create a brief or development specification to guide your project
• Spend time in your customer's world - don't assume anything
• Speed is the essence – your market won’t wait and neither will your competitors
• Leverage technology to utilise all the downstream benefits

Zara Ryan from Venture Taranaki discussed how their partnership with Callaghan Innovation can provide R&D support and funding for Taranaki businesses. She discussed the types of grants that are available and provided some inspiring examples of how these grants have already benefitted local businesses to national and international success.

Zara’s key points:

• A variety grants are available:
• Business growth grant for businesses with an ongoing R&D portfolio
• R&D project development grant for businesses with a specific R&D project
• Taranaki businesses can link with Masters and PhD students, our young innovators, to help grow your business or idea.
• Contact Zara to discuss the grants further or want to start the application process.

Howard Wright - Designing and tooling for efficient low volume manufacture in a competitive environment

The Product System

Developing Products that will Perform

Venture Taranaki - Research & Development Grants