PERI: Frank, kindly tell us what your team’s main objective is.
Frank Ilg: We try to look into the future and work out which challenges and influencing factors we should be addressing at PERI so that we can meet the future needs of our customers. We identify the topics that are relevant to PERI and assess their feasibility.
Frank Ilg, Head of Future Products & Technologies at PERI.
PERI: That sounds very exciting. Can you explain in more detail how you guys assess what the future will look like? What approach do you take on a daily basis?
Frank Ilg: We look at what customers will need in the future, for example in 2050. To do this, we develop potential scenarios based on sound data and future influencing factors, and we use these to forecast what our customers might need in the future. We then base our initiatives on those needs so we know exactly where we are heading. From that point onwards, we never lose sight of the goals we have set. Our team tackles new challenges every day and needs to come up with new solutions every time, because influencing factors are constantly changing.
The Future Products & Technologies team in their daily questioning about what our customers will need tomorrow.
PERI: How sure are you that your detailed predictions will come true in the future?
Frank Ilg: No one can predict the future! We try to derive forecasts, similar to a weather forecast. For example, the issue of sustainability and CO2 emissions is an increasingly important factor in the construction industry. The impact can be measured and evaluated from current and past data, and it can also be used to derive forecasts for the future.
PERI: In what way are you different from conventional product development, which also exists at PERI?
Frank Ilg: The difference lies in the fact that we do not deal with the further development of formwork and scaffolding systems. Instead, we deal with topics that PERI does not yet have any expertise in. With 3D construction printing, for example, we recognised that this technology could pose a threat to PERI’s existing business and offer our customers an alternative to the solutions currently on offer. As innovation leaders, we strive to be the first to push ahead with new technologies before someone else does – even if it means destroying our own core business.
3D concstruction printing went through all process cycles at PERI. This revolutionised the way construction is done today.
PERI: Does that mean that formwork and scaffolding may disappear at some point?
Frank Ilg: I don’t think so. There are also questions around concrete’s viability as a building material for the future. In my view, however, concrete has a very important role to play because of its characteristics. It is because of those characteristics that concrete will continue to be used in the future, especially when it comes to infrastructure. Personally speaking, I also feel more at ease driving over a concrete bridge than over a bridge made of bamboo. Formwork and scaffolding also have their fields of application and justifiably so. I don’t see that changing. But what I do believe is that the number of different construction methods will increase because external influences and customer demands will change. Things will become more complex. Nevertheless, we will always aim to offer the best solution.
PERI: What has been your personal highlight so far – the one that you are particularly proud of?
Frank Ilg: 3D construction printing topped everything else. This topic went through all of our team’s processes. From identification to scenarios and relevance checks, etc. right through to market entry. And we achieved all that with our relatively small team. We’re like a start-up in a corporation. It makes you very proud when projects that start out with an idea on a piece of paper ultimately come to fruition and can be turned into reality. The same applies to TwistBlocks and Mesh.
The "Future Products and Technology" team at PERI during the development of the TwistBlock Moulds, for which PERI won the German Innovation Award 2021.
PERI: Surely not everything goes smoothly. What are the biggest challenges you have faced?
Frank Ilg: The biggest challenge is that topics are very vague at the beginning – barely tangible and difficult to picture. It is difficult to gain acceptance for relevant issues that we believe in internally. For example, several years of research went into the 3D process – that’s a long time coming. The road was also bumpy and led us astray at times. For instance, we wanted to kick things off with another industrial partner, we were ecstatic about it and thought “soon we’ll be able to print houses”. But then it turned out that the company used a material that was 20 times more expensive than concrete and that put an end to the euphoria. So then we had to start from scratch again. But that also makes our working day incredibly diverse, challenging and pretty cool.
PERI: The construction industry doesn’t change very quickly. How do customers feel about new innovations that come onto the market? Are they grateful?
Frank Ilg: The construction industry is certainly a unique industry, more traditional than others. Looking at Apple, for example, all I have to do is make the camera resolution better and then everyone goes mad for it. In construction, you really have to provide a benefit that is also reflected in monetary terms, for example in construction times. Based on the feedback and response we receive, we can say that even radical innovations in the world of construction that bring about major improvements and benefits for customers are gratefully accepted. If a new development results in little or no added value, then this cannot be considered innovation in my view.
The MESH technology is a robot-assisted technology for the efficient and cost-effective production of complex reinforced concrete parts - completely without formwork. The 3D grid structure is another milestone when it comes to the future of construction.
PERI: Are there any similar initiatives or ventures regarding this topic?
Frank Ilg: There are lots of initiatives that are taking this approach. However, the feedback I have received from our collaboration partners, like universities, start-ups, the industry generally, etc., suggests that we have already come a long way in proactively addressing the future needs of customers, especially in terms of implementation, which is something that others often fail to do. We work on these topics from identification right through to implementation, from start to finish, not just in part.
PERI: If you had to name one important characteristic of PERI as a company, what would it be?
Frank Ilg: What I really like about PERI is that it is a family business, and not just on paper. The family spirit is palpable and that gives PERI an informal nature that I really value and that makes PERI special.
PERI: And now for a question that everyone is probably waiting for: What exciting trends lie in store for the construction industry in the future?
Frank Ilg: That’s tricky, of course, because the topics are constantly changing. But at this point in time, sustainability will be the topic that we will have to address and deal with in the construction industry in the future. For example, we are thinking of ways to use concrete even more intelligently, and only where it is actually needed. Or how to make concrete CO2 neutral – this of course would change the properties of concrete, which in turn would have an impact on the formwork. This would then prompt the question: “What changes do I need to make to my formwork to accommodate the materials that will be used on the construction site in the future?”. For example, I am in contact with a start-up in Zurich that has developed a concrete substitute material based on clay. The strength values of this material have been good so far, but it dries out very slowly, taking about 20 days to do so. Currently, it takes about 2 days with concrete. This means that the striking process for this material would have to happen later, which would not be to the customer’s liking. So we are pondering how we could speed up this process with our formwork. Another topic is timber or hybrid construction, which I think will also become more and more prevalent.
PERI: That’s really exciting and there’s a lot to do. What do you think the future holds for PERI?
Frank Ilg: PERI has always had customer needs as its number one priority and this will continue to be the case in the future, of course. In my view, however, these needs will change; they will become more diverse and complex. That is the challenge for PERI now: to adapt to the various and evolving customer needs of the future. Business models may need to be adapted, other construction methods considered and developed, or, at the very least, access to other construction methods facilitated. It’s an incredibly diverse topic. The basis, however, is remaining true to the principle of putting the customer first.
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