Sustainable promotion of a culture of innovation
Innovation is no coincidence, but hard and challenging work. This is what the 15 participants from our subsidiaries experienced in the Business Model Innovation (BMI) project.
With the BMI project, which was led by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the ZHAW School of Management and Law during 2021, we aimed to explore a new approach to institutionalize innovation in our company through a structured process. In doing so, we pursued two strategic goals.
On the one hand, the BMI project was meant to promote the innovation culture and attitude of our employees towards change and development in a sustainable manner.
On the other hand, what was learned in theory was to be applied by the four teams in different workshops. With a lot of curiosity, creativity, courage and confidence, but above all with joy and enthusiasm, eight concrete innovation projects were developed, which have the potential of being successfully implemented and bringing added value to the company were developed. After the final presentation to the Executive Board, one of the innovation projects will be realized and a second will be further examined.
Challenge, diversity and continuous advancement
Julia is a fantastic example of how diverse a field of work can develop at IMPAG AG.
After completing a three-year dual study programme in Internal Business Administration at IMPAG Germany and gaining insights into a wide variety of departments, Julia joined IMPAG Germany as a full-time employee in Sales Support in the Chemicals division. Not long after this, Sales & Product Management started to involve new responsibilities, ever since which Julia has been responsible for the support of our customers in the Home Care sector. While continuing to work, Julia then completed her Master’s degree in Digital Business Strategy, allowing her to become involved in new cross-group projects and activities in addition to her work in Sales.
“The variety of my tasks can definitely be challenging,” says Julia, “but I really appreciate this variety and enjoy taking on new challenges.”
Julia will certainly find, and master, new challenges in her new role starting on 1 January 2022: she will be joining the management board in Germany and, together with Vera, who will continue to serve as the managing director, will share overall responsibility for IMPAG in Germany.
Innovative and more than just run-of-the-mill work!
To what extent will the pandemic change the consumption behaviour of beauty consumers? Where do beauty consumers set their priorities and how can manufacturers respond to these changing needs and requirements?
Always keeping an eye on current issues and market developments, Laura, Business Development & Innovation, shows in our video on "Consumption Priorities in Times of Crisis" what impact the pandemic has had on the cosmetics industry and to what extent the consumption behaviour of beauty consumers is changing.
Using a wide range of market examples, Laura Roth provides insights for cosmetics manufacturers and provides inspiration for new product developments and concepts.
Not only at the office!
Our Product & Sales Managers are not only to be found in the office or in sales talks at the customer's premises.
The many projects in which our Sales & Product Managers are able to accompany the transformation process that our raw materials go through from raw material to use, make for great variety in their work.
Pascal has exchanged his suit for a protective jacket and is using his know-how on site at the customer's premises. After successful laboratory tests, he accompanies a test on a production plant in the industry.
Digitally creative!
Digital communication is becoming increasingly important.
Digitalization is conquering our everyday business with increasing speed and is also influencing our communication and interaction with customers and partners.
In in-house productions, our experts convey IMPAG concepts in a dynamic and innovative way.
This is a valuable opportunity for our communications team to gain experience in the digital field and at the same time offer our customers added value.
Application technology – supporting and inspiring!
We make cosmetic trends visible and our raw materials tangible!
The work of our experts in IMPAG's application technology laboratory is versatile and often no two days are alike. They handle application technology issues relating to our raw materials and active ingredients, develop formulations for trend concepts and support customers in formulation questions.
Targeted support in the incorporation of raw materials into cosmetic formulations are key factors for the successful transformation of our customers' ideas into marketable products.
Accompany apprentices on their career path
Accompanying, supporting and promoting is part of Andrea's everyday life. As a professional trainer he passes on his knowledge to our apprentices. " Professional training enables me to work together with young people, to constantly rethink my approaches and to adapt to change," says Andrea.
Trust, honesty and discipline are values that Andrea would like to pass on to the young people during their apprenticeship. "In our fast-moving world of work, it is important to be able to rely on your team," says Andrea.
Apprentices are an enrichment for our whole company and we enjoy accompanying young adults in their learning process.
Off to practical skill enhancement
Our Product & Sales Manager Tamara gets a deep insight into the topic "whipping agents for bakery products and desserts" and is given the opportunity to try it herself. At our partner's lab she has the opportunity to deepen her technical know-how in practice in order to support customer projects even more comprehensively.
Thanks to our cooperation with leading manufacturers of ingredients and additives, our employees in the various business units have the opportunity to expand their expertise in a wide range of areas, both theoretically and practically.
Job Dating - We meet our future!
Motivated, active and full of enthusiasm, Monica (Head of Human Resources) and Tamara (Sales & Product Manager, Nutrition & Health) present IMPAG as an employer to the food technology students at the Agro Food Job Dating Fair.
Job Dating - We meet our future!After a short company presentation in the plenary session, students have the opportunity to get to know future employers and make initial contacts at the subsequent table fair.
For our HR, this is a wonderful opportunity to make the diverse job opportunities at IMPAG clear to students and to get in touch with potential candidates in a non-binding yet personal way.
Our IT - often invisible, but indispensable!
The Corona lockdown in spring 2020 required swift action on the part of IMPAG's IT department: thanks to lean structures, Matthias, Dorian and Fabian transformed over 120 office workstations into home office workstations within a very short time. Modern hardware and software solutions, such as Microsoft Teams introduced the autumn before, allowed for efficient collaboration, accessible video conferencing and the exchange of files and information.
Our IT team manages the lifecycle of hardware and software on a daily basis and ensures support for all IMPAG Group employees. With a great deal of commitment and expertise, our IT ensures that all the necessary systems are ready and functioning reliably.
Work and development
For Fabiana, work means development. As Senior Sales Manager at IMPAG Austria in the Performance Chemicals Business Unit, Fabiana is responsible for the sales of our raw materials in Southwest Europe and also attends to some multinational companies.
Continuous advancement is very important to Fabiana, which is also the reason why she is completing a Professional MBA in Marketing & Sales alongside her work at IMPAG. The study programme enables Fabiana to expand her strategic and operational competences in the field of marketing and sales, which helps her to advance personally as well as in the scope of her work at IMPAG.
Fabiana seized the opportunity to present our social media strategy as an innovative example in B2B to her fellow students during a lecture.
