Report for the Board of Synterials plc.
S F Bush
Summary
This paper arises from a request to Professors Franklin and Bush to assist in the development of a Medium-term Business Plan through an examination of the technological opportunities available to Synterials for profitable growth. Since Synterials’ business is essentially new technology, the Technology Development Plan is hardly separable from development of the commercial objectives on which Synterials’ know-how can be focussed.
For each of the technologies (materials, CAE*, RIM**) in which Synterials has some involvement, the paper accordingly assesses the position under three headings:
- the outside world,
- the Synterials current position relative to that world,
- what Synterials could do in the future and how.
Besides its involvement in specific technologies Synterials has fostered the concept of streamlined product development under various headings (CARE, IDEA). Accepting that in itself this is not a technology per se but an aspiration shared by all businesses, the paper also assesses which elements of Synterials’ business have specific relevance to this objective and how they can be optimised or supplemented.
* CAE: Computer Aided Engineering
** RIM: Reaction Injection Moulding