Spring 2023 Venture Client Cycle 19.01.2023

First business opportunities of 2023 are live: Check out what Autoliv, Husqvarna Group, KONE, Munters, Scania, SKF, and Stora Enso need from your company!

A new year means new Foundry opportunities! We are excited to bring you these 12 opportunities and to welcome newcomers Munters and SKF into their first Foundry cycle.

This spring brings with it new opportunities for startups and scaleups to enter into business partnerships with Foundry member companies. We are seeking solutions for improved circularity solutions, material innovation for products and manufacturing, automated systems, cybersecurity, intralogistics, sensors, and numerous sub-topics. The call is once again extensive and there is plenty of space for even the most finely detailed offerings your company might have. Read them all below and submit your solution by February 19th!

Opportunities with Munters

Munters has just joined the Foundry family! They are a global leader in energy-efficient air treatment and climate solutions and have played a role in shaping the industry for climate solutions since the company was founded in 1955. Munters’ goal is to provide energy-efficient, safe and reliable climate solutions where control of moisture content and temperature in production are mission critical. Their first Foundry opportunities concern additives and carbon capture. Check them out:

Additive Manufacturing

Munters’s manufacturing spans a variety of components, materials, processes and locations. In between all this, there is potential for significantly improving efficiency to facilitate sustainability in the business. Together, we are looking for industrial-scale solutions within additive manufacturing to improve our existing processes, secure better use of raw materials, and the efficiency of Munters products, while reducing waste and manufacturing footprint.

Read more here

Carbon Capture Solutions

Munters Clean Technologies is looking to grow their carbon capture offering and capabilities, which currently include technologies for the removal of Sulphur and Volatile Organic Compounds, among others, from the atmosphere. To complement their emission abatement offering, we are looking for partners to co-develop or adapt equipment for carbon capture in end-of-pipe applications and/or direct air capture to create a joint offering for the market

Read more here

Opportunities with SKF

SKF announced their membership in Foundry at the end of last year, and finally we get to launch our first opportunities with them. Their core field is rotating shaft products and services, so ball bearings, seals and lubrication solutions, to name a few examples, are their game. Yet, there’s much more to it, as they offer advanced solutions like artificial intelligence and condition monitoring to their clients too.

Aftermarket Availability for Ramp-Up (for agricultural distributors)

Among their product offerings in a range of industries from aerospace to food and beverage, SKF provides products and services to the agricultural machinery sector. The company offers a specialized Distributor program in the Agricultural spare part market, to help distributors grow their bearing business. With this opportunity, we are looking for solutions to help manage and optimize the availability of SKF products to Agri Distributors.

Read more here

Circularity of Grinding Waste

As a world-leader in rolling bearings and related technologies, SKF works towards more sustainable production and processing operations with the goal of limiting negative impact on the environment. SKF’s sustainability goals include reuse and recycling of 80% of the swarf generated in production. Here we seek solutions that improves and effectivizes the briquetting, cleaning and/or collection of swarf waste from the grinding operations. This would not only make the production process more sustainable, but also help turn traditional cost positions into revenue streams.

Read more here

Self-power Technology for Sensorized Rail Axle Boxes

SKF has identified the railway industry as a key focus sector for future growth. For rail operators, axle boxes are a critical asset that require frequent maintenance to ensure reliability and performance of high value. SKF currently has several rail sensor solutions to monitor wheel-set bearings and is now looking for the next generation of product innovation to enhance sensor solutions in order to provide more functionalities and performance for longer. The solution we are looking for should enhance the energy efficiency of the bearing monitoring sensors to ultimately lengthen their lifespan, to match those of the bearings themselves.

Read more here

Opportunities with KONE

This spring with KONE, startups and scaleups have opportunities in cybersecurity and automating intralogistics. With a huge installed base of products including elevators, escalators and automatic doors, and an impressive tech stack connecting numerous IoT devices and services through APIs to the KONE Cloud, the range of possibilities for working together is vast, to say the least. See the two opportunities below.

Customer Value Through Next Generation Cybersecurity

KONE is looking for new ways to ensure a proactive approach to cybersecurity, by enabling new opportunities through responsible business practices and meeting our customers' needs. If your solution contributes to creating new customer value through improved product security or staying ahead on mitigating cybersecurity risks along the value chain, we would like to hear from you.

Read more here

Autonomous Intralogistics

We want to improve productivity and service speed in manufacturing at KONE through internal logistics development. If your solution enables efficient autonomous transportation of a variety of materials within our factory premises, check out the details and get in touch.

Read more here

Opportunities with Stora Enso

Stora Enso, a global industry-leading renewable materials company, is seeking solutions in smart collection technologies, sustainable packaging barrier alternatives, and entirely new barrier and coating materials. The first two are opportunities in the regular cycle; however, for New Barrier Materials and Coating Methods, we will be seeking solutions until further notice. Further details below…

Smart Collection Solutions

We are aiming to reduce virgin raw material consumption and the carbon footprint of their products and services. To achieve this goal, there is a constantly growing need to better maintain the value of packaging materials and products. Efficient collection and maintaining purity are key starting points for increasing the potential re-utilization of materials and reusable packaging. Smart collection technology can be an effective way to achieve this.

Read more here

Sustainable Barrier Alternatives and Applications

Stora Enso is developing new generations of bio-based and renewable food packaging solutions and is constantly working on sustainable and recyclable packaging options for a range of industries and applications worldwide. Now, we are looking for novel barrier application technologies and applications to treat our fiber-based cardboard to create even more eco-friendly barrier solutions.

Read more here

New Barrier Materials and Coating Methods

Stora Enso is looking to broaden its range of coating solutions and surface treatment technologies that could be applied to our packaging. We are developing new generations of bio-based and renewable packaging solutions that enable recyclability and/or reusability of the packaging material. Therefore, we are looking into materials and technologies from other industries as well to find the most groundbreaking innovations.

This submission process is ongoing and does not have a designated deadline. We will review submissions once per month together with the Stora Enso case team. Feel free to send us an email to foundry@combient.com if you have any questions or wish to use the submission submitted for this opportunity for other opportunities in this cycle.

Read more here

Opportunity with Autoliv

Fabric Pick and Place Automation

Autoliv, the world's leading manufacturer of automotive protective systems for all the major automotive OEMs, is running one opportunity in this cycle. They are committed to operating its business at the highest level of quality and at the most efficient cost possible. Autoliv fabrics are used in automotive safety applications such as airbags, steering wheels and seats. Currently, unloading flat fabric components after laser cutting from a conveyor belt is a highly manual process which requires up to 6 operators per shift. A successful pick & place solution can be deployed to unload fabric components increasing operator safety, reducing material costs and decreasing the amount of manual labor required.

Read more here

Opportunity with Scania

Component Circularity Management

Scania, a world-leading provider of sustainable transport solutions, is looking to further improve the sustainability and circularity management of Scania product components, in their sole opportunity for this cycle. In case you are working on a solution that contributes to extending the life of components by increasing the visibility of their status and second-life availability throughout the life-cycle, we would like to hear from you.

Read more here

Opportunity with Husqvarna Group

Fossil-Free Power for Chainsaws and Handheld Tools

Husqvarna Group is exploring innovative fossil-free solutions to power its range of chainsaws and handheld tools for forests and parks. They offer industry and R&D expertise necessary to conduct a successful pilot project, along with the manufacturing and distribution capabilities to scale this potential long-term partnership across the globe, and put your technology in the hands of professionals everywhere.

Read more here

Got an idea of where your offering could help? Get in touch with us, latest on February 19th, by submitting your solution proposal(s) here! And if you are interested in Stora Enso’s New Barrier Materials opportunity, submit your solution here instead.