Former executives of the BigRep and NOWLAB leadership team have founded a Berlin-based innovation studio, nFRONTIER, seeking to aid companies in accelerating the development and launch of their industrial products.
Dr Stephan Beyer, Daniel Buening, and Pervin Adiyaman have teamed up to launch nFRONTIER, which will help firms take advantage of eight emerging technologies, including additive manufacturing, to reshape their product creation patterns through a proprietary A to L operating model.
“Our mission goes beyond finding the best way forward for our clients,” said Buening, nFRONTIER CEO. “We also consider the dynamic social, ecological and economic changes forcing us to cross borders into unchartered territory. At the core of our services is a smartly designed, proprietary operating model we call A to L, designed to facilitate product development and business models with a lasting impact and added value.
“From strategy and design to execution and success: This is how companies can rise to meet the challenges of our time.”
Building on industry experience
With decades of industry experience between them, the three founders of nFRONTIER previously held leadership roles in large-format 3D printer manufacturer BigRep, which most recently announced the launch of a 3D printer leasing service for its BigRep STUDIO G2 industrial printer for North American customers.
Alongside two decades of experience in venture capital and corporate administration, current Chief administrative officer (CAO) of nFRONTIER, Adiyaman, served three years as Head of investor relations at BigRep where she oversaw contract and IP management.
Meanwhile, Beyer brings a wealth of experience in finance, sales, and technology to the nFRONTIER table, having joined BigRep in 2014 as the firm’s CFO and later moving into the CEO role. During his time at BigRep, Beyer drove the strategic development and global expansion of the firm, and now serves as nFRONTIER’s Chief commercial officer (CCO).
Last but not least, nFRONTIER’s Chief executive officer (CEO) Buening was BigRep’s CIO and co-founder of its NOWLAB innovation unit. Buening directed the development of the unit’s 3D printed prototypes, which included the award-winning BANYAN ECO WALL with inbuilt water and drainage system, a fully functional electric motorbike named NERA, and a 3D printed autonomous electric podcar, known as LOCI.
nFRONTIER’s A to L operating model
According to the nFRONTIER founders, the future of product design and manufacturing will be shaped by eight emerging technologies, namely additive manufacturing, virtual reality (VR), robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), generative design, Internet of Things (IoT), and 5G.
As product life cycles become increasingly shorter and time-to-market windows for innovations grow narrower, companies will need to leverage many of the above technologies in order to keep pace with evolving market dynamics and customer expectations. nFRONTIER will seek to guide firms as they adapt their business models and products moving forwards.
nFRONTIER’s curated network of partners and experts will be connected with customers through a matchmaking process, in order to create a fusion of various disciplines and market insights. To do this, interdisciplinary teams will identify the specific needs of a company and then connect them with designers, engineers, software specialists, or finance and business experts.
The innovation studio’s A to L operating model is based on four pillars; Analyze, Ideate, Create, and Launch. The process can be implemented flexibly depending on customer requirements.
Within the Analyze phase, nFRONTIER will carry out market analysis and projection for new products, including product positioning and scouting trends. The Ideate step will see concept design and development take place from white paper to concept design. In the Create phase, prototyping and minimum viable product (MVP) takes place through the integration of the eight emerging technologies mentioned above, alongside in-house expertise from nFRONTIER’s teams. Finally, the Launch stage encompasses the manufacturing strategy and market launch of the developed product to provide usable blueprints for manufacturing.
“We embrace technology,” said Beyer. “Our process leverages the benefits of eight core emerging technologies in a smart and inter-connected way. We unlock these essential technologies for companies, enabling our customers to seize unprecedented market and growth opportunities.”
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Featured image shows the nFRONTIER founders left to right: Daniel Buening, Dr Stephan Beyer, and Pervin Adiyaman. Image via Juri Reetz/nFRONTIER.
