Success case of synergies among Railgrup partners: 3M, DIAB, Eximport, Talgo and EURECAT involved

Submitted by Daniel Fernánd… on 19 May 2023

This success story exemplifies the essence of the cluster: cooperation and collaboration between different cluster companies representing our value chain: a large organisation, an OEM, an Operator, a Technology Center, and a tech-savvy SME.

This is a new product development in the manufacturing process whose feedstock is from DIAB and 3M, which EXIMPORT is manufacturing, for the end customer TALGO.

On the other hand, all the tests have been carried out at the EURECAT Technological Center and IN-MOVE’s vice president.

The product: Structural sandwich panel for train floors, partition walls and (interior) ceilings. Composition: foam core (low weight and high density, from DIAB) + two aluminium skins bonded with 3M structural adhesive of low weight and thickness. Specialised companies, such as T.M. EXIMPORT manufacture it. The key is the selection of the best materials for each function (weight, strength, cost, durability).

IN-MOVE identified a possible matchmaking between Diab and 3M and coordinated a series of meetings involving these companies. After these meetings, a market analysis was conducted, identifying that both organisations had a similar customer profile target within the railway sector.

This allowed a common approach to preparing a joint value proposal investment in R&D to develop a specific product for the targeted needs.

With this information, they successfully introduced the joint product to the first segment of customers (previously customers from Diab or 3M), TALGO and ROLEN.

One of the problems identified in using these systems was manufacturing and reception times.

Therefore, they contacted a national company within the cluster capable of manufacturing these panels with high efficiency, speed, stock capacity and delivery power without dependence on international transport to avoid the possible negative impacts of the pandemic and other potential barriers.

Therefore, the manufacturing was awarded to Eximport for the Talgo project, both for its quality and proximity to the customer. In addition, there is an increasing interest in the product raised by some of the cluster’s engineering firms, including Ansitec.

We can identify a collaboration, with quantifiable results, involving seven cluster companies of different typologies representing different sectors of our value chain.

 

Renfe acquires 10% of IN-MOVE’s start-up IMOTION ANALYTICS strengthening its commitment to open innovation.

·       Renfe has selected Imotion Analytics after an intense evaluation process, carried out in the first half of 2022, of the startups participating in all the calls of TrenLab, Renfe's global startup acceleration program.

·       Renfe will acquire 10% of the capital of Imotion Analytics.

Renfe has approved the investment agreement in Imotion Analytics, whose technological base is Artificial Intelligence, to expand its commitment to open innovation.

This investment goes beyond mere financing, as it represents a first step for the railway company towards what is known as the "Corporate Venture Capital" world, a hybrid model of innovation in which the advantages of a large company are combined with the innovation and motivation of a startup.

This relationship between the two companies, strengthened by IN-MOVE’s connection, aims to establish synergies in exploring new technologies and business models, attracting talent and innovation.

The transaction involves Renfe acquiring 10% of the capital of Imotion Analytics, with the possibility of investing up to an additional 10%, reaching a final stake of 20% of Renfe in Imotion Analytics. In this way, Renfe will be part of the Board of Directors.

TrenLab, innovation lab

Trenlab is Renfe's global startup acceleration program. It is the hub for open innovation in mobility, transport, and logistics. It works closely with startups and Renfe subsidiaries to accelerate the best projects and generate business opportunities.

In its four editions, the TrenLab acceleration program has attracted more than 900 registered startups, of which 17 startups have already been accelerated, and more than 121 jobs have been created. IN-MOVE has supported TrenLab and open innovation during these years through intensive communication and dissemination actions and by encouraging the cluster’s start-ups to form part of the program.

 

About Imotion Analytics

Imotion Analytics, IN-MOVE’s member since 2021, was one of the startups participating in the second first call of TrenLab.

It was born to be a benchmark reference in solutions based on multisector artificial vision. It uses this technology and proprietary algorithms to let customers know what is happening in their business. In this sense, Imotion's technology can detect human bodies and objects, extracting information ranging from the recognition of gender and age of people.

Its technology is even capable of detecting and analysing the mood and emotions of customers, being able to detect and predict human behaviour.

 

During participation in TrenLab's acceleration program, they worked on implementing their solutions in stations and trains. They are currently working actively with RENFE Security Management.

These are success stories aligned with the cluster strategy and technological cooperation where the cluster has offered:

·       positioning their offer and expertise

·       cross-cutting innovation management

·       visibility and networking

·       generation of spaces for shared knowledge and cooperation at the highest levels.

           

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