Sustainable Productivity

Here’s an excerpt from an article about Atlas Copco’s 140-year commitment to innovation in this month’s issue of Compressed Air Best Practices:

When thinking about innovation during the past century, the mind immediately wanders to consumer-facing brands that make products that are experienced by users – like a mobile computer and videophone that fits in our hands or the technology applications through which almost all modern business is conducted.

One company that has a profound influence on how these well-known innovative companies manufacture products is Atlas Copco. As the company celebrates its 140th anniversary in 2013, it is reflecting on its own innovations and adaptions – products, service and market expansion – that have placed it in a position as a world-leading supplier of compressed air solutions, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems with a principal focus on “sustainable productivity.”

One of the best places to search to determine if a company is living up to their marketing promises – specifically in regards to innovation – is their annual report.

Atlas Copco’s 2011 annual report cites a separate line item for research and development at approximately $278 million (USD) – which equates to more than two percent of the company’s revenues. This is a primary reason the company has been recognized the past few years by Forbes, Thomson-Reuters and Newsweek, among others for its commitment to innovation. Also in 2011, the Patent Board of Global Industrial Equipment Manufacturers recognized Atlas Copco for the quality of their patent portfolio – placing the company 13th on their global list.

This commitment to research and development didn’t begin recently; it has been ingrained in the company’s culture from the beginning.

Continue reading the rest of the article by following this link.