TH Group
Innovation, Value, Experience
Stephen Mitchell - MD
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Global Brands – Made in Scotland
• Teknek – global leader in contact cleaning
• Coughtrie – Scotland's oldest industrial
lighting company – formed 1938
• MESO design – Technology and Product
Realisation services
• Keizai – Operational Excellence
development services
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Who are Teknek?
• Teknek are:
– World leaders in contact
cleaning market
– Manufacture solely in West
of Scotland
– 80% of suppliers within 30
miles of site
– 98% export of finished
goods
• Around 50% goes to Asia
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Coughtrie
• Vandal Resistant
Lighting
– Social housing
– Custodial
– Railways
– Urban
• All made in
Scotland
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Collaboration
• Innovation in all things
– Products, process, distribution
• Key Values for TH Group
– Innovation, Value, Experience
• Major competitors – Asian copycats – Innovate fast
and regularly
• Two Different Projects
– Short Term – Herriot Watt
– Long term – Glasgow University
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Why collaborate
• We have well developed traditional R&D
• Need to be more innovative in the R&D
process
• Merge the ‘tried and tested’ with the
‘wacky idea’
• Looking for best practise, and long term
sources of expertise.
• IP major issue, so keep it local
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Herriot Watt
• Coughtrie
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70 year old business – conventional lighting
Rescued from bankruptcy in Nov 09
Identified a major gap in LED knowledge
Starting with our local SE account manager
constructed a brief of the skills we needed
Herriot Watt had the appropriate skills
Short Term specific project ~ 3months
Provided specific results and up skilling
Jump start – project will continue with new internal
team
First major Social Housing LED project – Lambeth
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Glasgow University
• Teknek
– Gap in the innovation process
• Needed both faster innovation and latest thinking
– Three Universities ‘pitched’
• Glasgow, Strathclyde, Caledonian
– Chose PDE (Product Design Engineering) at
Glasgow
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Dare to be different
• First project
– Unspecified
• Had two of the best MEng students over the summer
• Worked on injecting ‘wacky’ innovation into R&D process
– 1st product launched only 6 months after started
• Project 2
– Harness innovation at PDE
• Principle sponsor of PDE course
– £2k student prize for the most innovative design
– Formed an Innovation and Design Business using
PDE graduates – MESO Design
• That resource is blended with PDE to provide innovation for
both TH Group companies and third parties
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Interface to Business
• Meso Design
– Technology and Design
• 1 year old
– Lodged several patents ranging from
» Personal air pollution monitoring
» New concept in Vivariums
– Third party products already appearing, for example
» Weight Angel
» Commercial vehicle weight and weight distribution
system
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Does Collaboration work?
• We liked it so much we bought the
business !!!
– Pick your project well
– Pick your partner well
– Don’t pick the partner who has access to the
best funding
– Ask for the moon
– Have fun
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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Support
• Well supported by SE
• All Academic interactions good
• Now giving back
– Provide £25k per year to PDE
– Industrial Liaison Board
• Finding industrial projects for students
– Taking Innovative idea from PDE and helping
commercialise them
THG_S. Mitchell - June 9th 2010
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