21.02.2025
NETZSCH - The innovation ecosystem
The NETZSCH Group is renowned worldwide as a successful family-owned company distinguished by its three independent business units, strong customer focus, and deep expertise. But we are taking our commitment even further. With NEDGEX – our Corporate Venturing Unit – we are building a strategic innovation ecosystem that drives new technologies, innovative business models, and modern entrepreneurship.
NEDGEX, pronounced “NETZSCHEX,” is our innovation forge. Backed by extensive expertise and financial support, it has already paved the way to success for both internal and external high-tech startups. With the mission “Empower, Innovate, Create,” NEDGEX supports founders in turning their ideas into market-ready solutions, providing valuable insights and tools along the way. Startups benefit from our collaboration, leveraging NETZSCH’s global reach and forward-thinking tradition.
Currently, over 15 employees work at NEDGEX across three locations in Germany and Brazil, dedicated to fostering the next generation of startups and developing commercially viable solutions. Successful ventures include NETZSCH Process Intelligence GmbH (sensXPERT), which revolutionizes data analysis by offering real-time insights into material behavior during production, and LabV Intelligent Solutions GmbH (LabV), a platform that optimizes quality control and product development through automated lab data management. In addition, NEDGEX has made several minority investments, such as in VERIDIS—a Dutch startup pioneering innovative technologies for the real-time analysis of recycled plastics.
In an exclusive interview, Paul Netzsch (Member of the Executive Board – NETZSCH Group), Christian Baier (Managing Director – NEDGEX), Dr. Alexander Chaloupka (Managing Director – sensXPERT), and Stephan Knappe (Managing Director – LabV) shared their insights on the challenges and successes of corporate venturing and investments in today’s dynamic and competitive market.
Interviewer: Mr. NETZSCH, what role do innovation culture and entrepreneurship play at NETZSCH?
Paul Netzsch: The NETZSCH Group attaches great importance to continuously promoting and expanding its innovative strength in order to actively shape industrial change and operate in a future-oriented manner. As a technology leader, we regularly launch new products and solutions on the market. This challenge enables us to form strong partnerships in a dynamic ecosystem that provide valuable impetus for innovation. Ultimately, it is our entrepreneurial talent that implements and drives these innovations.
Interviewer: How does NEDGEX find potential ideas or start-ups and how are interested parties supported?
Christian Baier: We combine our expertise with current trends to develop innovative ideas. Our greatest advantage is the application knowledge in our business areas. We promote internal company ideas through structured implementation, comprehensive expertise, an appropriate budget and the necessary infrastructure. External start-ups not only receive financial support, but also access to resources such as our Techco.lab in Brazil. Initial success stories such as sensXPERT and LabV show how we develop projects into market-leading digital solutions. We also use an international network to specifically look for investment opportunities in external start-ups and support them.
Interviewer: Mr. Chaloupka, what makes an idea convincing? And what would you recommend to someone with a good idea?
Alexander Chaloupka: If you are convinced of something, you should never stop believing in it. Sometimes an idea matures over years, sometimes it comes like a sudden flash of inspiration. However, a convincing idea always arises from the synergy of experience and external information. If you come across gaps that you cannot close yourself or in your team, you should actively seek out experts and be open to support. At NETZSCH, we back up ideas with sound data that clearly sets out customer benefits and objectives.
Interviewer: Mr. Baier, Corporate Venturing & Investments requires resources, time and talent. How is NEDGEX prepared for this?
Christian Baier: We use resources in a targeted manner to promote innovations that correspond to our trends and search fields. Our global talent program, the NETZSCH Pioneers, develops entrepreneurial skills and builds innovation ecosystems in locations such as Munich, Selb, Hof and Brazil. As a result, we are well networked internationally and have the necessary skills and expertise. We have a structured process for company building and investing in external start-ups that significantly shortens development times. Nevertheless, patience, budget and perseverance are crucial for success.
Interviewer: How does corporate venturing fit into the overall strategy?
Paul Netzsch: The three divisions use strategic focus projects to identify and pursue a wide range of opportunities. Some projects become ventures or new start-ups. If our solutions deviate significantly from the existing business, we rely on flexible set-ups or invest in external teams. This allows us to share risks and remain agile. This approach supports our goals and opens up the opportunity to establish a fourth pillar for the NETZSCH Group.
Interviewer: Mr. Knappe, what makes collaboration in the innovation ecosystem special?
Stephan Knappe: What began as a NEDGEX incubator is now being driven forward by LabV specifically with the Grinding & Dispersing and Analyzing & Testing business units. We are currently working very closely with NETZSCH Gerätebau GmbH, which is our potential customer with its laboratory and testing equipment - whether in research & development, in the application laboratory or in the final inspection of thermal analysis and rheology equipment. Our new AI assistant also has its finger on the pulse here. Joint marketing appearances at trade fairs, conferences and webinars strengthen our reach and create synergies.
Interviewer: What added value do the start-ups' innovations bring to the divisions?
Paul Netzsch: The added value for the NETZSCH Group's divisions is created by several key factors. Firstly, the rapid implementation of new solutions enables a prompt response to market changes. Secondly, our ventures promote innovative technologies and their creative combination, which leads to ground-breaking developments. They also open up market niches that are not covered by our core business, thereby opening up new growth opportunities. In addition, we attract talented specialists who further strengthen our innovative power.
Interviewer: What are the three biggest challenges for LabV?
Stephan Knappe: LabV is overcoming many strategic and commercial challenges. We compete with expensive, established LIMS systems at major customers. But with our “Material Intelligence Platform”, we offer an innovative solution “Beyond LIMS”. It combines measurement data from various test devices from different manufacturers and uses AI to precisely identify trends and anomalies. Another challenge is the continuous improvement of our LabV software based on customer feedback and the upscaling of our cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).
Interviewer: Which industries offer the greatest potential for sensXPERT?
Alexander Chaloupka: The area of composites offers enormous potential in the construction, aviation and automotive industries. We are already achieving considerable cost savings in production. In the future, the EU-regulated market for recycled materials, particularly from household waste, will open up further opportunities for us.
Interviewer: How do you see LabV in ten years' time?
Stephan Knappe: LabV will be indispensable for material development. As the NETZSCH Group's first pure software business, we will use the Material Intelligence Platform to meet the requirements of a rapidly growing market and clearly set ourselves apart from the competition in order to be successful internationally. I look forward to LabV making a substantial contribution to our business results.
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