I once designed a state-of-the-art contact curing system for a film coating line—boosting production output by 75% while increasing energy costs for curing by only 2 kWh per hour. This breakthrough not only also prevented film shrinkage but was implemented for less than $35,000, turning the company into one of the most profitable release liner manufacturers I know, with an EBITDA exceeding 25%!
🔍 Fast forward to today: I recently discovered that the company dismantled the process and replaced it with a conventional air flotation oven—consuming significantly more energy instead of evolving the original, energy efficient solution.
🔄 The lesson? Chasing “me too” developments instead of nurturing proprietary process innovations leads to profit erosion. Companies that copy competitors instead of leveraging differentiating technologies risk losing their edge—both in efficiency and profitability.
💡 True innovation isn’t about following the herd—it’s about redefining the path.