Companies not focusing on innovations won´t have the chance to succeed in the market in the future. Innovations are undoubtedly one of the main incentives for maintaining and increasing the competitiveness of companies. The main barriers for companies to implement innovations in manufacturing - money, time, and people – may be solved by the OpenMaker project.

Lubomir Billy will present the concept of open innovation in manufacturing and its application in the OpenMaker project. New products and services do not need to be created in the closed environment of one company, as is still commonplace. On the contrary, innovations can result from creative collaboration and sharing information between several partners, often from different fields. Manufacturing companies have opportunities, innovators have ideas. The main goal of the project is to connect existing manufacturers with creative innovators.

The OpenMaker project is an international project implemented in Slovakia by Centire s.r.o.. Building a community of manufacturers and makers is currently under way in four countries – in Slovakia, Italy, UK and Spain.