Jonathan Loeffler - Director, Steinbeis-Europa - Zentrum Karlsruhe, Germany

Development of Technology Roadmaps in Nanomaterial Sciences and Industrial Adaptation to Small and Medium sized Enterprises

The project NanoRoadSME is a European funded project. It is a pilot initiative to facilitate the integration of new research results of nanomaterials in small and medium sized companies (SMEs) using technology roadmaps. This approach including SMEs is new. In the next ten years scientific developments in the field of nanomaterials will influence many different industrial branches e.g. automotive, aeronautics, mechanical engineering, medical systems or health. In these industrial sectors many SMEs are involved as traditional suppliers, start-ups or producers of high tech products. In order to remain competitive on these markets, the companies have to integrate these new results in their commercial vision for future products. Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum with its European partners has performed a study on more than 300 European SMEs in order to identify the success factors and the barriers for companies active in the field of nanomaterials. The results of this study and the methodology used for the adaptation of roadmaps to SME will be presented.

Dr. Jonathan Loeffler, director of the Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum Karlsruhe, holds a degree in chemistry and a Doctorate in material sciences of the University of Stuttgart. He has over 4 years experience in thin film and micro structure technologies. He was working for the Max-Planck Institut für Metallforschung (Stuttgart). He has been working for the Steinbeis Foundation since 1996 and is specialised in the support of SMEs, in the management of European Projects and in the international technology transfer in particular between German and French companies. He has been leading various European research projects with SMEs and has been participating in many different support activities from the European Commission in the domain of technology roadmaps, Innovation Management Techniques, Best Practice of Innovation and Euromanagement. He has good experience in addressing the difficulties and demands of SMEs working on a European level. He became director of the Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum Karlsruhe in March 2000.

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