B R I S BAN E

SCO R ECAR D 2013INNOVATION

An initiative of

INNOVATION

05 42Foreword from

The Honourable Ian Walker MP the Minister

for Science, Information Technology, Innovation

and The Arts

Scorecard Methodology

06About Brisbane:

Australia’s New World City

15 43Case study introduction

16 Case study - Emersteel Fabricators

18 Case study - Engineering Applications (ENAP)

20 Case study - GroundProbe

22 Case study - JAG Poly

24 Case study - MTD Products Australia

26 Case study - Oniqua

28 Case study - OSD

30 Case study - QIP Physiotherapy

32 Case study - Speedwell

34 Case study - Sunny Queen Eggs

36 Case study - Teakle Composites

38 Case study - Vehicle Components

Acknowledgements

& About Brisbane

Marketing

07Key Findings

2013

04

13

40Foreword from

Brisbane Lord Mayor

Graham Quirk

2010, 2011 and 2012 Case Study

Updates

Winner of the 2013 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards Nova 106.9

Award for Innovation: Tritium

04

Foreword from Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk

Brisbane is a diverse and energised global city with a $135 billion economy. In 2013, Brisbane gained recognition from the 2thinknow Innovative Cities Index as a city with dominance or influence on key economic and social innovation segments, based on global trends.

The 2013 Brisbane Innovation Scorecard is a unique and candid glimpse into the ways in which innovation is approached and executed within Brisbane businesses.

The scorecard research process opens up discussion with businesses about significant innovations within each business in the past three years, and how these innovations bolster each business’s competitive edge, both nationally and globally.

This scorecard highlights three dominant themes of innovation uncovered by the research investigation across an unbiased survey sample and how a business-model approach to innovation impacts on business performance.

Overwhelmingly, it was found businesses that made innovation a priority did so to increase the value of their products and services to their customers, whether it be by increasing the efficiency of supplying goods or services or ensuring products and services were competitively priced.

Such astute business practices enable Brisbane to remain a globally competitive city, and increase our ability to rival and outstrip overseas products with those produced right here in our own backyard by local people – a boost to the local economy.

Fostering a strong manufacturing and engineering community is paramount to ensuring Brisbane is not only on track to

support its rapid growth, but also to continue to gain recognition for its outstanding research and development, innovation and business intelligence.

The future of Brisbane’s growing economy and diverse business network depends upon the capability of businesses to respond to growth opportunities, differentiate themselves from competition, and cut down on waste through methods of consistent innovation activity.

It is with great pride that I present the 2013 Brisbane Innovation Scorecard to you.

Graham Quirk Lord Mayor

Foreword from the Minister for Science, Information Technology,

Innovation and the Arts Ian WalkerInnovation is the key to increasing productivity and driving economic growth. It’s also important for opening up new markets for our products and services, particularly in the growing Asian markets.

The Newman Government is committed to applying science and innovation for economic success.

Innovation is also highlighted as a key element of The Queensland Plan, this government’s 30-year vision for the state.

We continue to support science that meets the needs of business and the people of Queensland, and are actively reducing the barriers to business success. We are connecting business with potential collaborators, opportunities and problem-solvers including researchers,

and provide information to help business to take ideas to market.

We’re pleased to continue our collaboration with the Brisbane City Council, Brisbane Marketing, Deloitte Australia, Enterprise Connect and the UQ Business School to produce the 2013 Brisbane Innovation Scorecard.

This year the scorecard illustrates how business can innovate to create more value for customers. In increasingly competitive market conditions, it makes good business sense to focus on what

customers value, and to improve the customer experience. The case studies in this report show how some of our local companies have harnessed the power of new ideas to make that happen.

I am encouraged by these stories and the local businesses that make the time and financial investment in innovation, demonstrating that Queensland is a great state with great opportunity.

The Honourable Ian Walker MP Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts

05

Brisbane is an energised and enterprising city.

An Asia Pacific trailblazer, Brisbane has the ambition, credentials and innovative spirit to prosper in the emerging world of the 21st century.

Brisbane’s economy is estimated to be worth $135 billion in 2013, and by 2031 Greater Brisbane is expected to reach $217 billion.1

Initiatives such as the 2013 Brisbane Innovation Scorecard recognise the creative approach of businesses that develop unique solutions for improvement through innovation activities.

The scorecard acknowledges the hard work undertaken by these firms to compete with international markets, improve outcomes for customers and, in turn, bolster the reputation and economic strength of the city of Brisbane.

Looking forward, Brisbane will continue to assert itself as a serious global player as:

• Host of the 2014 G20 Leaders Summit.

• Custodian of the Asia Pacific Cities Summit.

• Host of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and Asia Pacific Triennial indigenous art show.

• A multi cultural hub of creativity, innovation and ambition with an unsurpassed lifestyle.

Notably:

• Brisbane City Council is committed to increasing the size of Brisbane’s economy over the next 20 years, boosting jobs and per capita income by 50%.

• The Digital Brisbane Strategy is aimed at doubling the number of Brisbane businesses selling online between 2013 and 2018.

• With more than 170 mining company headquarters within the city boundaries, the Brisbane economy absorbed $14.6 billion of direct expenditure from the resource sector – the largest destination of mining expenditure across all Queensland regions.2

With a growing reputation for forward-thinking education providers and world-class research facilities, Brisbane is a city that nurtures and enables innovative businesses and individuals to achieve global recognition and success.

About Brisbane: Australia’s New World City

06 1 Source: (2006) OESR Experimental Estimates of GRP; (2011) BCC Estimate of GRP; (2031) NIEIR Forecast, 2009 2 Queensland Resource Council “Economic Impact of the Resources Sector on the Queensland Economy 2011/12” (Nov 2012)

About Brisbane: Australia’s New World City

Progressive Brisbane businesses are applying innovative strategies to their products and processes to add value for customers and bolster performance.

The 2013 scorecard uncovered three main approaches to innovation used by businesses in the survey sample of 330.

These businesses responded to tough economic conditions and focused on retaining market share through the development of innovative strategies inspired by customer motivations by:

➊ Innovating to gain market differentiation.

➋ Innovating for customer simplicity.

➌ Innovating for customer transaction efficiency.

Results showed many innovating businesses exhibited more than one business model.

Almost 40 per cent reported investing in one or more significant innovations in the past three years, with better overall performance achieved by firms innovating across a broader range of their business operations.

Key findings

07

2013 innovation highlights Top 10 reasons for innovation (% of innovating businesses):

38.5%of Brisbane businesses report significant innovations in the past three years.

51%of manufacturers that innovate have stepped up activity in the past three years.

55%of large firms (more than 200 employees) report significant innovations in the past three years.

67%of information and media businesses report “new to industry sector” innovations.

57% of manufacturing businesses report “new to industry sector” innovations.

80% of innovating businesses adopt strategies already used by competitors.

• New-to-the-industry innovations take longer to generate a performance advantage.

• Businesses using multiple forms of innovation perform better.

08

Top 10 reasons for innovation (% of innovating businesses):

Firms with substantial R&D innovated to be at the cutting edge of the industry.

➊ To differentiate products and services from competitors: 91%.

➋ To increase responsiveness to customer needs: 89%.

➌ To increase or maintain market share: 88%.

➍ To improve quality of goods and services: 87%.

➎ To establish new markets: 87%.

➏ To be at the cutting edge of the industry: 86%.

➐ To increase efficiency of supplying/delivery of goods or services: 85%.

➑ To increase capacity of production or service provision: 80%.

➒ Profit-related reasons: 75%.

➓ To ensure products are competitively priced: 71%.

Larger firms were most likely to innovate to improve safety and working conditions.

09

Innovation categories Innovation types

Scorecard results identified two main types of innovation.

➊ Novel – new to the industry sector.

➋ Non-novel – new to the business only.

More than half of innovating businesses reported investing in innovations that were new to their industry. Additionally, many of these businesses reported multiple innovations across their business, with about 80 per cent of overall innovation activity focused on bringing in innovations already used by competitors.

Innovation by industry

Larger businesses were more likely to invest in higher levels of innovation activity.

More than 55 per cent of larger firms (more than 200 employees) innovated, with fewer than 30 per cent of micro firms (0-5) reporting innovation activity.

Different industry groups reported significant differences in innovation activity.

The sectors found to be most likely to innovate were:

➊ Professional, scientific and technical services (47% of businesses in this sector reported significant innovations).

➋ Manufacturing (51% reported significant innovations).

Some industries were more likely to invest in novel innovations than others – i.e. new to both the business and the industry:

• 67% of innovation-active businesses in the information and media industry.

• 57% in manufacturing.

• 54% in professional, scientific and technical services.

0

10%

0-5 6-19 20-199 200 and more

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

InnovatorsNon-innovators

Series 1

Over $20M and above

0 5 10 15 20 25

Over $5M to $20M

Over $1M to $5M

$500k to $1M

Less than $500k

0

10

Produc

t

Produc

t pro

cess

Logist

ics

Serv

ice

Serv

ice

proce

ss

Org

anisa

tiona

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cess

Mar

ketin

g pro

cess

HR pro

cess

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Novel

Non-novel

Innovation Types

3520 15

Manufacturing

5 3 2

Construction

Novel and non-novel innovators by industry

229 13

Wholesale

73 4

Transport

9 63

Infomation Media

3519 16

Professional

13 8 5

Other

Novel

Non-novel

Total

INNOVATION TYPES

NOVEL AND NON-NOVEL INNOVATORS BY INDUSTRY

10

Innovation and performance

There was a substantial correlation between innovative practices and enhanced business performance throughout the 2013 scorecard survey results.

So how do successful businesses innovate?

Despite having sector-specific issues to balance and varying reasons for innovation, results showed the overall focus of innovation activity was on value creation for customers.

Eg:

• Saving customers money.

• Improving the user experience.

• Providing new goods or services.

Scorecard recipients indicated five performance indicators that drove their innovation activity:

➊ Profit performance.

➋ Growth performance.

➌ Market performance.

➍ Customer performance.

➎ Overall performance.

Innovating firms were more likely to be better at market and customer performance than non-innovating firms.

Businesses that carried out both novel and non-novel innovation were most likely to have better overall performance, profit growth and market performance.

Results showed novel innovators were not finding immediate performance advantages, possibly due to the longer-term strategy required to create, implement and market innovations that were new to the industry sector.

Firms with several types of innovation were motivated by:

• Competitively pricing products.

• Improving product quality.

• Improving IT capabilities.

Logistics process innovators innovate to:

• Utilise IT capabilities.

• Respond to government regulations or standards.

Product innovators were most concerned with:

• Price.• Quality.

Case Study company Sunny Queen Eggs demonstrates innovation for market differentiation with its frozen poached egg product for caterers and large-scale kitchens.

Case Study company Vehicle Components demonstrates innovation for customer simplicity by opening a new customer service centre and management structure to streamline processes for customers.

Case Study company Emersteel demonstrates innovation for customer transaction efficiency through a new process platform for customers seeking materials for large-scale infrastructure projects.

Innovation business model themes

Innovating for market differentiation

Businesses identified as innovating to gain market differentiation applied their resources to:

• Develop new products and services or combinations thereof.

• Provide new information for customers.

• Provide tools to ease customer access.

• Integrate innovations across business areas.

Most businesses that were innovating to gain market differentiation invested in innovations that were new to their industry.

Businesses most likely to employ this business model were also found to:

• Be logistical process innovators.

• Focus on design and functionality to create value.

• Innovate across organisational processes.

• Implement multiple innovations across process, service or product.

Innovation for customer simplicity

Businesses identified as innovating for customer simplicity focused on using innovative technologies to ensure their customers experienced simple and easy-to-understand processes in accessing their products or services.

Customer simplicity innovations were usually innovation-active in organisational processes, product and service.

Customer simplicity innovations were most strongly oriented to achieving customer satisfaction and attached a lower priority to overall business performance or profit as a driver of their innovation.

Innovation for customer transaction efficiency

Businesses focused on innovating for customer transaction efficiency invested in innovations that would lower customer costs and the cost of doing business in general.

These innovations were most often process-based and larger firms with higher turnover and research expenditure were the most likely to undertake this type of innovation.

Each year we reflect on the progress of Brisbane companies profiled in previous editions of the Brisbane Innovation Scorecard.

This year we revisit six stand-out companies that have continued to give priority to innovative activities within their businesses.

Each of these businesses has developed long-term strategies that declare their innovation mission as motivated by customer value, and the process of innovation as a truly integrated part of the company framework and best practice.

Prowler Proof (2010)

Security door and window manufacturer Prowler Proof has been busy innovating since it was featured in the 2010 scorecard.

The company has invested in a thorough digital strategy focused on pre-empting and meeting the needs of its customers.

As a result of the innovation, the company has reduced its error rate to less than one per cent, significantly boosting productivity.

2010, 2011 and 2012 case study updates

13

Prowler Proof director Michael Henry said the new system completely streamlined the ordering process for customers.

“Today we have no order-takers, no order processing, not one order comes through our office. It all goes straight to production,” Mr Henry said.

“For us, digital innovation removed the hurdles and the challenges of having one person doing the measuring, another person processing the paperwork, and another person interpreting that paperwork – a process with no integrity.”

Restaurant Two (2011)

Customer satisfaction is bread and butter business basics for iconic Brisbane eatery Restaurant Two.

Since it appeared as a case study in the 2011 scorecard, owner and head chef David Pugh said the business had continued to weave a culture of innovation into everything it did.

“These days, regardless of the industry you’re in, you need every possible brownie point you can get with your customers,” Mr Pugh said.

An emphasis on the training and encouragement of staff translated into a better dining experience for customers.

“We encourage our chefs to enter competitions to build their career and take pride in their work,” he said.

Restaurant Two also began an innovative cooperative of produce suppliers informed by a strategic relationship with the Queensland Government.

The number of producers signed up to the co-op has tripled in the past two years.

“The co-op not only allows us to use the freshest produce available, it encourages the farmers and it allows them to encourage other people to grow as well,” Mr Pugh said.

NEXTDC (2012)

2012 Brisbane Innovation Scorecard case study company NEXTDC has continued to innovate into 2013.

The company implemented solar power as a renewable energy source for its data centres and is installing the largest privately funded rooftop solar array in Australia, which will generate about 550 MWh (megawatt hours) of electricity and offset over 670 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.

As a result of this innovation, the NEXTDC Melbourne data centre – M1 – is about to become the first data centre in Asia Pacific to generate electricity from solar panels.

This is equivalent to taking 200 cars off the road or powering a NABERS 4-star office space for more than 890 people.

For NEXTDC it means reducing the company’s carbon footprint at the M1 facility, and allowing customers to benefit from the energy efficiency in their own carbon reporting. 

Silver Chef (2012)

Hospitality equipment finance group and 2012 scorecard case study business Silver Chef has continued to innovate in the past year.

After years of rapid growth, the company has expanded to the New Zealand market and announced plans to launch in Canada in 2014.

Silver Chef marketing manager Attie O’Rourke said international expansion would drive the company’s need to innovate, as well as focus on providing an exceptional customer experience.

“With international expansion comes a need for a stronger web presence and digital support, so a predominant focus over the coming year is system development,” Ms O’Rourke said.

“Silver Chef is focused on delivering a system that is adaptable, flexible and can keep up with business needs.

“We intend to design a flexible system that can keep up with technology improvements and business needs.”

14

The most anticipated section of the scorecard each year highlights the case studies.

This allows a selection of businesses recognised for their innovation activities to express what it is that motivates them and to showcase their recent achievements as a result of innovative practices.

This year’s case studies come from a diverse range of industry sectors, but share a common objective – harnessing innovation to add customer value and foster progress.

Innovation requires a calculated level of business risk to juggle the financial and resource investment, time, originality and acumen needed to drive successful change.

All businesses profiled in this section, and many of those surveyed, are all too familiar with this risk profile and it is through their resolution to embrace a culture of innovation that benchmarking projects such as the scorecard can exist.

It is not possible to highlight every business the survey found to have significant innovation, but we are grateful to all participants who shared their stories.

Case study introduction

Reload Media (2012)

Reload Media featured in the 2012 scorecard after the digital media marketing agency designed a new range of software that increased revenue exponentially.

Reload managing director Llew Jury said the company conducted a strategic review of the business in early 2013 to plan out the next five years.

“We included all staff and management in this process and made sure every one of the global offices received an outline of the exciting plans for future growth and market-leading performance for the business,” Mr Jury said.

He said the main innovation driver for Reload was great customer service and satisfaction.

“This now influences all parts of the business at every level, and all staff feel part of delivering innovative ways to offer excellent customer satisfaction at all times,” Mr Jury said.

“Another key driver is the ‘Batman’ division which researches and delivers innovation projects using a budget of one per cent of the previous year’s revenue.

“Projects are crowd-sourced internally and pitched by the staff, meaning

management can concentrate on daily operations of the company, whilst innovation is run by entrepreneurial directors.”

Coridon (2012)

Brisbane biotech leader Coridon was featured in the 2012 scorecard for establishing an important vaccine platform.

The University of Queensland spin-off company has since received ethical approval to begin a Phase I clinical trial in Brisbane.

The Coridon HSV-2 Vaccine targets genital herpes infection – a major unmet medical need.

The vaccine technology uses a patented optimisation technology that offers the potential of being both a preventative and therapeutic vaccine.

The Phase I clinical trial will be undertaken through Q-Pharm Pty Ltd’s clinical trial site based at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, involving 20 healthy volunteers.

Coridon CEO Neil Finlayson said the trial was an exciting stage for the vaccine, and early results have revealed no safety concerns.

15

When large-scale infrastructure projects such as the Airport Link and Legacy Way tunnel are in progress, business as usual is fever-pitch at Brisbane plate metal processor Emersteel Fabricators.

And after 30 years in the industry, managing director Nigel Emerson knows how important it is to the bottom line to keep the customer satisfied.

“We service a small niche of customers, but do repeat work with them,” Mr Emerson said. “We know them by name, we deal face-to-face and we are well briefed on their products.”

Mr Emerson developed a new process for customer ordering that assisted the customer to project their full project material needs. This in turn allowed economies of scale in raw materials ordering, cost savings at both ends and a more efficient manufacturing process.

“If we understand the whole project rather than just the order, it can save our customers a lot of money down the track,” he said.

“We can then get innovative with our own processes by creating jigs that will allow us to manufacture products with better quality control and efficiency, which also leads to safer work methods.

“It is like one innovation leads to another and it becomes a way to not only increase value for our customers, but improve our own procedures.”

Mr Emerson said the process of innovation often required the business to “spend some money to save money”, however cost-effective

quality products allowed the company to, in the minds of its customers, position itself above low-cost, low-quality imports.

“We take risks and we only get one go at it, but we have loyal customers and providing the best solution for them is the best solution for us,” he said.

Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Manufacturing

Innovation:

Streamlined customer ordering system

Year established:

1987

Employees:

35

Offices:

Brisbane

Export markets:

Australia

“It is like one innovation leads to another and it becomes a way to not only increase value for our customers, but improve our own procedures.”

Profile: Emersteel Fabricators

Profile: Emersteel Fabricators

17

18

Profile: Engineering Applications (ENAP) Fast Facts

Industry sector:

Engineering

Innovation:

New welding processes Year established:

1979

Employees:

140

Offices:

Brisbane

Export markets:

Australia

“We aggressively pursue opportunities to

streamline and improve efficiencies as part of a strategy to provide

value to our customers and achieve long-term business success.”

Exceeding client expectations is the key to exponential growth for 34-year-old Brisbane engineering services firm Engineering Applications (ENAP).

Business manager Shane Peacock said staff numbers

had almost doubled since 2008 and the company

generated more than $25 million in revenue

for 2012/13 after a decision to

focus on using innovative

technology to improve its products, services and processes.

“Partnering with global business consultancy firm KPMG on strategic management and establishing simple and efficient systems of operation has been a major driver of innovation,” Mr Peacock said.

ENAP has expanded services in the past five years to cope with increasing customer demand for fabricating tanks, vessels,

steel structures and thick gauge steel components

by investing in advanced equipment and staff

development.

The company invested in

a Lincoln, 1000-

amp sub

arc welder which is capable of welding large components in a fraction of the time it would take a tradesman.

“The machine can complete a job in nine minutes that would take a tradesman a whole day,” Mr Peacock said.

ENAP also invested in robust health, safety, environmental and quality management systems to keep pace with the introduction of new machinery; purchased land and buildings in an adjacent block and refurbished a warehouse building to implement a new central store and asset tracking software which has streamlined logistics.

“We aggressively pursue opportunities to streamline and improve efficiencies as part of a strategy to provide value to our customers and achieve long-term business success,” Mr Peacock said.

Profile: GroundProbe Listening to its customers was the way in which a Brisbane company founded from a University of Queensland (UQ) research group got its first big break.

And according to GroundProbe Vice President – Marketing and Technology, Dr David Noon, reaching out to industry specialists goes a long way too.

GroundProbe’s idea to use Slope Stability Radar (SSR) technology to monitor the movement of walls in open pit mines was a revolution in mining safety.

But when customers started to offer feedback about ways they could better package the technology, the wheels were set in motion for GroundProbe to become the highly-innovative global mining safety product pioneer that they are today.

The ground-breaking T-Series Radar developed by the company is a more rugged version of the SSR technology on which GroundProbe built its global reputation.

“Our customers were the ones who gave us the ideas for what to develop next,” Dr Noon said.

“Suggestions about how we could make the radar more mobile by putting it on a trailer, for example, allowed us to commercialise a model that had instant stakeholder approval.

“But you will only be able to collaborate with customers like that if you build strong relationships in the first place.”

Despite servicing 22 countries, dealing in six different currencies and with a growing staff of 160, Dr Noon said the GroundProbe team knew all of their customers by first name.

“It would be unusual to go two weeks without communication with customers,” he said.

“They have constantly changing needs and contact is regular and continuous.”

To ensure constant innovation, GroundProbe also seek advice from the “corporate godfathers” of their industry several times a year to workshop ideas and make recommendations.

Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Manufacturing

Innovation:

T-Series Slope Stability Radar

Year established:

2003

Employees:

160

Offices:

Brisbane, Perth, US, Brazil, Chile, Indonesia, South Africa

Export markets:

North America, South America, Africa, South East Asia

“Suggestions about how we could make the radar more mobile by putting it on a trailer, for example, allowed us to commercialise a model that had instant stakeholder approval.”

Profile: GroundProbe

21

22

Profile: JAG Poly Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Manufacturing

Innovation:

Tailored polypipe products Year established:

2004

Employees:

30

Offices:

Brisbane, Toowoomba, Dalby

Export markets:

Papua New Guinea, New Zealand

“...we started modifying and adapting things to suit

customer needs, and that’s what sets us apart to this day.”

Brisbane poly welding specialist JAG Poly is excited by obscure customer queries.

When a customer comes to Brisbane poly welding specialists JAG Poly with an

obscure query, that’s when it gets exciting, according to

managing director John Masters.

A little blue book floats around

the Eagle Farm

facility

brimming with “crazy ideas” that ensure the company - whose products make the water effects at Sea World and Village Roadshow Movie Studios water shows possible - are forever innovating.

“Our staff take all of those industry too-hard-basket inquiries,” Mr Masters said. “We like solving problems for our customers and we’ve become very adaptable.”

JAG Poly started out in Mr Masters’ lounge room nine years ago. He was running a company making polypipe

fittings and considering semi-retirement. His

two business partners were in the irrigation

business.

The company began by selling mainstream pipeline products, but was increasingly fielding inquiries for specialist pipe fabrications.

Industry contacts convinced the trio to help formulate innovative solutions to unusual problems.

“Major companies are usually restricted, but we started modifying and adapting things to suit customer needs, and that’s what sets us apart to this day,” Mr Masters said.

As with any customer-driven innovation, he said there were often periods where research and development was disproportionate to return.

“You need to take calculated risks,” he said.

“But if we think something has merit, we will take it on board and run with it, and if it’s successful then that opens up a whole new market of customers for us.”

Profile: MTD Products Australia Next time you reach into the garden shed to grab the mower, consider the process it might have gone through to be able to cut your grass right.

Brisbane-based lawn and garden outdoor power equipment supplier MTD Products Australia have been working since 1990 to “Australianise” lawn equipment products to suit the needs of customers across Australia and now beyond.

MTD Products Managing Director Brett Riley said a lawn mower designed to work in America would not necessarily perform as intended on Australian soil.

“We have different types of grass to start with,” Mr Riley said.

“We also cut our grass at about 3-6mm lengths, whereas in the US they cut their grass when it’s about 50mm in length, so a walk-behind mower made for the US market won’t cut our grass without modifications.”

MTD Products conduct regular surveys with customers selling their products to determine how to continue to adapt equipment to meet customer needs.

“We usually find customers to be quite forthcoming about what they want from us and sometimes it’s practical and sometimes it’s not,” Mr Riley said.

“We have also adopted an internal process that welcomes and encourages input and ideas from staff.”

A major cultural shift within the organisation in recent years has equipped staff with more autonomy, improved overall communication through the adoption of new technologies and allowed MTD Products to continue to expand.

“We now have a cultural environment that nurtures innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship from staff,” Mr Riley said.

“It is about every staff member learning to never underestimate the impact they can have on the overall success of the business,”

Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Manufacturing

Innovation:

Product development

Year established:

1990

Employees:

73

Offices:

Brisbane, Melbourne

Export markets:

South Pacific, New Zealand

“We now have a cultural environment that nurtures innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship from staff.”

Profile: MTD Products Australia

25

26

Profile: Oniqua Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Professional services

Innovation:

Tailored asset management systems Year established:

1993

Employees:

50

Offices:

Brisbane, Perth, US, UK, South Africa, Chile

Export markets:

40 countries worldwide

“We let those ideas percolate and we monitor

the ones that get the most attention, and then we look at taking them to the next level.”

Seeing is believing when it comes to proving to customers there is value in your products, according to Oniqua co-founder and CEO Andrew Hill.

Oniqua provides proactive and predictive asset management

solutions to help companies maximise profits.

Mr Hill said there was no one-size-fits-

all approach to showing a

company how to

save

money, and each and every customer solution was an innovation of its own.

“Essentially we save companies money by analysing their data,” he said.

“We started out working with coal mining companies in Queensland, many of which had hundreds of millions of dollars tied up in spare parts and inventory sitting in warehouses doing nothing.”

An Oniqua asset management optimisation system uses data

analytics to scientifically determine how companies

can better manage inventory, reduce

production risk and improve

performance to save

money.

Mr Hill said the capabilities of products usually had to be demonstrated to customers before they would sign on.

With an export market spanning more than 40 countries, Oniqua’s diverse working team requires internal innovation in order to thrive.

Oniqua staff use an internal “Facebook-like” networking system called Chatter to share tips.

“We also have an internal ‘wiki’, like Wikipedia, where staff are encouraged to share their ideas,” Mr Hill said.

“We let those ideas percolate and we monitor the ones that get the most attention, and then we look at taking them to the next level.

“It allows us to capture the ideas of our staff very efficiently and can often end in the creation of a new product, service or process that enhances the company position.”

Profile: OSD Deadlines are closely tied to bottom lines in the oil and gas industry.

Pipeline and pipeline facilities engineering, operations and training services provider OSD works with clients to develop an innovative project delivery platform to simplify design and construction.

OSD general manager for Australia East, Martin Axelby, said the idea to create a geographical information system approach was driven by the needs of clients to produce large quantities of engineering design work in tighter deadlines.

“In an industry with exponential growth in recent years, there’s a need to complete larger-scale project delivery in shorter timeframes,” Mr Axelby said.

“In conjunction with geomatics service provider GeoSynergy, OSD developed an automated design

technology that enables us to accurately expedite designs on a large scale, cost-effectively.”

This technological innovation is being used by two of the three major coal seam gas to liquid natural gas projects in Queensland.

Mr Axelby said meeting face-to-face with clients and understanding as much about their project as possible was essential when developing workable solutions.

“Before we commence any work, we need to understand what clients are currently doing so that we can customise our service experience and map workflow processes within their specific requirements,” he said.

For OSD, innovation within the business is primarily technology-driven.

OSD made a strategic decision to constantly engage young engineers with fresh concepts that were attuned to new systems and innovative technology.

“This enables us to search for constant innovation and fresh ideas,” Mr Axelby said.

Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Engineering

Innovation: Automated design technology

Year established:

1998

Employees:

250

Offices:

Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, New Zealand, Chile

Export markets:

US, New Zealand, Canada, South America, South East Asia, Middle East, Africa, and former Soviet Union

“For OSD, innovation within the business is primarily technology-driven.”

Profile: OSD

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Profile: QIP Physiotherapy Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Accreditation

Innovation:

New process and software Year established:

2000

Employees:

48

Offices:

Brisbane

Export markets:

Australia

“...the success of the accreditation program

was attributed to QIP taking an innovative approach to developing its own software to continue to support

clients with more user-friendly and cost-effective accreditation models.”

Sometimes the best innovations are born out of frustration with the current system.

Quality in Practice (QIP) established an accreditation program for physiotherapy

practices in collaboration with the Australian

Physiotherapy Association (APA).

The accreditation program

measured the

performance of practices against standards developed by the APA.

While the concept of accreditation was generally well received by physiotherapy practices, feedback from practice principals perceived the standards and the process to be too complex and prescriptive for small office-based practices.

QIP national manager Wendy Shephard said expectations, such as the onsite assessment of a physiotherapy practice, were considered too onerous.

“An evaluation of the program indicated a

need to simplify and streamline the

standards and accreditation

process,” Ms Shephard

said.

QIP and the APA worked collaboratively to revise the physiotherapy accreditation program, focusing on reducing duplication and prescription, strengthening the measurability and enhancing the focus on outcomes.

The overall concept of the revised program, which introduced a desktop assessment by a peer surveyor, has been well received by both practices and surveyors; the streamlined process is more economical, less time-consuming and less stressful for QIP’s clients.

This year the company merged with three other major primary care accreditation organisations to establish Quality Innovation Performance, creating one of Australia’s most comprehensive accreditation businesses.

“Innovation within QIP is driven by the board, senior management and staff through recognising the need to provide clients with better integrated services,” Ms Shephard said.

Profile: Speedwell Thanks to the expertise of Brisbane digital strategist Speedwell, the most highly confidential documents in the country can now be securely distributed and accessed using the modern technological devices of key government figures.

Research and development specialists in the 16-year-old company are driven by customer demand, and sometimes their customers are government stakeholders on overseas trade missions.

The inspiration for Speedwell’s latest large-scale innovation came after a business case was raised by the former Queensland Premier’s Department.

“When you are sending confidential documents, network security is an issue.” Speedwell director Brett Wiskar said.

“We originally built a solution for the former Bligh Government that allowed them to finalise documents they have tabled for a meeting, store them in a secure format and share them in a secure environment.”

“When it proved successful, we started to field inquiries from Premier and Cabinet departments in NSW and Victoria, plus the Prime Minister’s department.”

Unlike many other digital solution agencies, Speedwell employs strategists and architects with strong technical capabilities, a move Mr Wiskar says makes it easier to create unique solutions for clients.

“Our clients often come to us with only a business objective or a vision. We then work closely with them to define strategy, produce a technical design, develop and implement the solution.”

The company innovates its own processes in the same way, having developed a custom-designed intranet to manage projects, resources and timelines that also produces metrics to track its own efficiencies.

Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Information media and telecommunications

Innovation:

Secure document delivery

Year established:

1997

Employees:

40

Offices:

Brisbane

Export markets:

Australia

“Rather than expecting our customers to vary their practices to adapt to an off-the-shelf system, we develop a system that adapts to their need.”

Profile: Speedwell

33

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Profile: Sunny Queen Eggs Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Food and food services

Innovation:

Frozen poached egg

Year established:

1930

Employees:

87

Offices:

Carole Park

Export markets:

Australia

“We are all about looking for niches and

opportunities, and a lot of our upcoming products will fill the gaps

in the market.”

Innovation triggers more innovation, according to Sunny Queen Eggs managing director John O’Hara.

In 2005, the executive team at Sunny Queen Eggs made

a strategic decision to diversify the business –

which saw innovative ideas “snowball”.

Successful business

innovation was all

about

stepping outside your comfort zone, Mr O’Hara said.

“Driving change within your business is a journey, and you need to accept that when you set your innovation goals,” he said.

In 2013, Sunny Queen Eggs released a frozen poached egg innovation.

The gluten-free, halal-certified and pasteurised product hits the plate after just 40 seconds in the microwave.

The catalyst for the idea came after a chef preparing

large-scale breakfasts for hotels and events

approached Sunny Queen Eggs to

help simplify his busy kitchen.

“These types of requests are just what the management team at Sunny Queen Eggs work from to initiate product improvements,” Mr O’Hara said.

“We looked at the problem and we sat down and said: ‘where would this sort of technology be used elsewhere?’ ”

The success of the poached egg innovation helped the business to look upon customer problems as potential opportunities for product conception.

Further research into its food services customer base has led to other innovations which are currently in the development process.

Profile: Teakle Composites Brisbane fibre composite specialist Teakle Composites has experienced rapid expansion from humble beginnings as a University of Queensland research group to manufacturer of bore hole liner products used by some of the biggest mining companies in the world.

Company owner Philip Teakle said the company had undergone a revolution in products and processes in its six short years of operation.

“Basically we’ve gone from doing our own thing to developing products to suit our customers in the energy and environmental sector,” Dr Teakle said.

“We were originally much more internally motivated with aerospace products that only benefited a very small market, but we are now servicing a number of multi-billion dollar customers with custom-made solutions.”

Teakle Composites uses innovative manufacturing processes to produce bore hole liners in demand by

mining companies working on oil, gas and water projects.

To produce a personalised product, the team has to undertake a process of reverse engineering.

“It was a matter of finding a similar finished product and starting from scratch to engineer how we could make that with readily available and cost-effective raw materials,” Dr Teakle said.

“A resin formulation innovation allowed us to produce the liners to a consistent high quality and low cost.

Dr Teakle said customers were increasingly demanding products ‘not in the catalogue’.

“When we’re creating something new and we need assistance to get things right, we seek out the experts from CSIRO, universities or industry,” Dr Teakle said.

“There are a lot of very smart people in our Brisbane network who have provided critical pieces in the puzzles we’ve faced in the past.”

Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Manufacturing

Innovation:

Bore hole liner products

Year established:

2007

Employees:

13

Offices:

Brisbane

Export markets:

Australia

“Basically we’ve gone from doing our own thing to developing products to suit our customers in the energy and environmental sector.”

Profile: Teakle Composites

37

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Profile: Vehicle Components Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Manufacturing

Innovation:

New service centre Year established:

1977

Employees:

31

Offices:

Brisbane

Export markets:

Australia

“This is not a dream, or a vision, it is our reality.”

The close-knit team at family-owned caravan and camper trailer suspension and components company Vehicle Components lives and works by

the mantra of its 93-year-old patriarch, Arthur Goddard.

Such inspiration may have contributed to

the company’s 36-year longevity.

“It’s not up to one person

to take

responsibility, it’s up to everyone,” vehicle components general manager Mathew Claringbold said.

“Each and every employee is responsible for the culture of innovation and continuous improvement.”

As a modern-day Australian manufacturer, the company juggles the need to continually improve its products, fight off cheap overseas imports, service a diverse customer base and streamline its internal processes.

“Innovations that have commercial benefit are focused on meeting the growing demands of our customers,” Mr

Claringbold said.

“We never take our customers for

granted.”

Vehicle Components established a new service centre to cement its reputation as a caravan suspension specialist, and it is forecast to increase revenue by more than 20 per cent in 2013/14.

“The centre uses digital tracking through our ERP system where we can collate useful statistics not only for managing KPI’s and the profitability of our service centre but to ensure the customer experience is exceptional.”

Flexibility in finding the right enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to manage the business unit was the key to its success, with the company first testing a product that was quickly abandoned for a more suitable replacement.

“Sometimes you have to make a courageous decision to change things that don’t work,” Mr Claringbold said.

“We are focused on satisfying our customers and continuing to improve in what we do and how we do it.”

Winner of the 2013 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards Nova 106.9 Award for Innovation: Tritium If pioneering Brisbane electric vehicle and components company Tritium has its estimates right, drivers of the world could be behind the wheel of fully electrical vehicles in just three or four years.

Winner of the 2013 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards in the innovation category, Tritium has been turning heads on a global scale for its commercialisation of electronic vehicle technology.

The company started out as a group of University of Queensland undergraduate engineers with a big dream, entrepreneurial spirit and a lot of smarts.

The company has also expanded its technology portfolio across a much broader range of markets and has applied its specialised expertise in a number of exciting projects.

These include accompanying Oscar-winning movie director James Cameron (Titanic,

Avatar) on an expedition to the deepest part of the world’s ocean, working on the Deep Sea Challenger electric submarine.

So how does a company like Tritium plan its innovation strategy?

“Everything we do is new, or an adoption of new technology and ideas,” Tritium co-founder and operations manager Dr Paul Sernia said.

“The company has built a strong portfolio of novel and industry-leading products that showcase our strength in creative thinking and cutting-edge engineering.

“I would say innovation comes from management down, but all staff come up with innovations that ensure we

produce high-quality power electronic components for electric vehicle systems.”

The team at Tritium thinks in terms of sustainability and renewable-energy at every turn.

“Essentially we create solutions that will work to replace vehicles as we know them today in the short-term future,” Dr Sernia said.

“Electric cars will be on the road being driven around like any other vehicle within the next few years. It’s a very exciting and progressive industry to be involved in.”

Fast FactsIndustry sector:

Technology

Innovation:

Electronic vehicle technology

Year established:

2001

Employees:

14

Offices:

Brisbane

Export markets:

Worldwide

“Essentially we create solutions that will work to replace vehicles as we know them today in the short-term future.”

Winner of the 2013 Lord Mayor’s Business Awards Nova 106.9 Award for Innovation: Tritium

41

Each year, the survey methodology is modified to enable detailed reporting on the reasons why Brisbane businesses implement innovation activity, and how they go about it.

In 2013, the Brisbane Innovation Scorecard underwent some innovation of its own.

Two main variations in the methodology were applied – ensuring greater accuracy of results, more precise responses and testing of a newly developed hypothesis:

➊ Businesses were chosen via a statistically random sample, rather than through referencing of industry lists.

➋ An approach to survey question construction, new to theory and practice, focused on how firms develop business models to assist their performance.

These changes were implemented to reduce bias in sampling and allow for deeper understanding of the relationship between innovation and performance indicators within businesses.

• 785 firms contacted in June 2013.

• 208 were not contactable.

• 246 firms declined to participate.

• 331 firms formed the sample size that results are drawn from.

• 61% response rate.

The surveys were completed by telephone to achieve a very high response rate of 61 per cent. This was important to ensure statistically comparable results around a complex set of questions.

Respondents were asked:

➊ Whether they had undertaken a significant innovation within the past three years.

➋ If their innovation was new to the industry or just to the business.

➌ How the innovation increased value to the business’s customers.

➍ Reasons for innovation.

➎ What business goals were prioritised.

➏ How satisfied they were with their performance in achieving their goals.

Questions 5 and 6 were particularly important as they captured business success in relation to business goals.

Subsequent correlation of these results with innovation activity revealed important insights into the link between innovation and performance, demonstrating overall that innovations embedded across all aspects of an organisation deliver the greatest benefits.

Scorecard methodology

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About Brisbane MarketingAs Brisbane’s economic development board, Brisbane Marketing drives an ambitious agenda to ensure the city’s future prosperity by championing opportunity, innovation, entrepreneurialism and collaboration. We help position Brisbane as a great destination for investment, tourism, conventions, study and work, as well as a significant city in the burgeoning Asia Pacific region.

Brisbane Marketing is fully owned by the Brisbane City Council and works with council, business and government to secure new business for Brisbane, attract foreign students and facilitate the growth of the digital economy.

We drive the Brisbane – Australia’s New World City brand positioning and a robust program of activity to attract visitors as tourists and as delegates for meetings and conventions. We generate activity in the CBD and South Bank precincts and coordinate the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the Lord Mayor’s Business Awards and the Brisbane Innovation Scorecard.

Brisbane Marketing is a passionate and energetic organisation with an unrelenting commitment to facilitate Brisbane’s journey towards a future of jobs and income growth, and business success.

AcknowledgementsThere are a number of organisations that deserve special thanks for their role in the production of the 2013 Brisbane Innovation Scorecard. They include:

• Brisbane City Council

• Brisbane Marketing

• Deloitte

• Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation & the Arts (DSITIA), Queensland Government

• Enterprise Connect

• UQ Business School

We would also like to acknowledge and make special mention of the following people for their valuable contributions to the 2013 Brisbane Innovation Scorecard project.

Technical advice and analysis:

Associate Professor John Steen, UQ Business School

Dr Martie-Louise Verreynne, UQ Business School

Dr Mishka Foster, Brisbane City Council

Copyright: This document and its attachments may be privileged or subject to copyright. Any use of this document or any of its contents should have the

prior and express authorisation in writing from Brisbane Marketing. Disclaimer: Brisbane Marketing believes that the information contained in this document

is accurate at the time of publication. Neither Brisbane Marketing nor any collaborating party undertakes responsibility in any way whatsoever to any

person or body for any errors or omissions in this document however they may have been caused. The views expressed in the case studies are those of the

individual companies which completed the Scorecard survey and do not necessarily reflect the views of Brisbane Marketing or the collaborating parties.

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