Innovation: between convergence and disruption
Editorial by Stéphane Gervais, Executive VP, Strategic Innovation

When I joined LACROIX Group as Director of Strategic Innovation in December 2014, the company reached a significant degree of mastery of its expertise. But this level of know-how was both an advantage and its Achilles heel. The Group, a little restrained, designed robust products. However, this allowed for little or no room for it to move outside of the box. Innovation requires being open, taking risks and leaving your comfort zone.

In 2016, LACROIX Group had significant strengths: namely its brand image and knowledge of its sectors. On the other hand, the differences in company culture and values between business sectors and employees, the lack of openness to the outside world and awareness of opportunities for convergence between the Group’s activities, all seemed to be a barrier to innovation and the tremendous potential that was emerging.

The idea was therefore to free creativity, to open up the teams to new subjects, and to take into account their own points of interest. We helped them identify new common ground, stepping back from each person’s specific core business. It was necessary to encourage teams to consider the added value of innovation, and above all to allow them to find the time and space to take the plunge.

Thus LACROIX TECH was born, as a community supporting innovation, encouraging open-mindedness and sharing within the Group. Within it, the teams created the LACROIX Lab, which acts as a true catalyst. It allows its members to contribute their specific know-how or their ability to identify potential areas for innovation. Topics such as new technologies, new methodologies and new cases of use are regularly addressed within this community. It has also given rise to exploratory projects.

This approach has continued with our industrial experts, creating a community which exchanges best practices: LACROIX FAB.

At LACROIX Group, we believe that innovation must be underpinned by convergence before it can become a breakthrough. Everyone plays an active role in innovation: it is a state of mind that is cultivated as and when necessary.
Of course, such transformation through innovation is only possible with the active collaboration of other outside players (companies, start-ups, public agencies, clusters, research, etc.)

4 years later, I almost feel that I am no longer in the same Group. Everywhere, in each of our sectors, we undertake innovative and exciting projects, in-house or externally, that we would not have even imagined a few years before. We work alongside our customers and an entire ecosystem to create an increasingly promising future. Also, the outside perspective on the Group has changed considerably, which brings us new opportunities!
We will soon be announcing new products that will make its importance all the more apparent. Watch this space!