HRE Hidraulic, innovating in the extended enterprise model
The SPRI (Basque Government Business Development Agency) has published an article on the internationalisation HRE Hidraulic is carrying out thanks to the support of the Innobideak programme.
This is the published article:
HRE Hidraulic has more than 30 years of experience in developing engineering solutions in industrial fluids and has two complementary business areas: fluid automation solutions for all types of industrial sectors and applications and the manufacture of training equipment for training on automation technologies. The former focuses on oil-hydraulic automation and industrial lubrication, while the latter develops and manufactures specialised training systems for industrial clients, educational centres, and universities.
With the support of the Innobideak Lehiabide, programme, coordinated by the SPRI Group, the company is currently in the process of opening up internationally through a search for partnerships with equipment manufacturers and distributors: “We are in a phase of study and creation of international partnerships, both at the level of manufacturers of training equipment complementary to ours, and distributors”, explains Iñaki Gutiérrez, responsible for this line of business at HRE Hidraulic, “our objective is twofold: on the one hand, to be able to offer a wider range of products to be more attractive by offering a more global training solution in the international market, and on the other hand, to find partners who are well established and have the capacity to influence in each country”.
For the Elgoibar-based company, innovation must play a pivotal role in strategic thinking, both in terms of production and organisation, investing 3% of its resources in R&D&I. In this regard, they are immersed in a new inter-company relations model based on the idea of an extended enterprise. “The idea is to create a relationship model between client and supplier similar to that existing between the different departments of the same company, jointly seeking opportunities to innovate and improve the proposal to the end client”, says Iñaki Gutiérrez. They are also developing an organisational innovation project to create a new employment model based on transparency and active participation within the company.
Innobideak is a programme aimed at developing competitive improvement actions in Basque companies. It has three support lines: Lehiabide, focused on innovation projects, the search for greater dimensioning and the development of collaborations between companies and suppliers; Pertsonak, to promote workers’ participation in the company; and Kideabide, a programme aimed at improving business management. The deadline to participate in the 2018 Innobideak call is open until 27 September.
Source: SPRI
