Chasing a profitable dream

The outsourcing of non-core activities has been on the rise for the last 30 years. Business decision on which activities to outsource depends on a thorough value-chain analysis of the company’s strengths and weaknesses.

The rise in popularity of outsourcing business functions in the last years has included research and development, mainly because of the need to continuously access new markets, technologies and specialist expertise quickly and at constrained cost. The purpose of research and development is to provide businesses with differentiated products, systems and processes to meet customer needs.

Industrial research company Melitech Design Ltd was set up to provide research and development services to other businesses. Its portfolio ranges from product conception and design to manufacturing. The company is even aimed at businesses with their own research and development department which may seek to subcontract part of this function for expediency reasons.

Melitech Design offers its clients services such as the development of the product idea, prototyping and testing. Building on this process, the electronic and mechanical experts at Melitech support companies in the actual production of the new products by creating all the related manufacturing and testing documents and the provisioning of all jigs and equipment needed for the manufacturing process. This enables its clients to focus on the value-generating activity of producing and marketing the product in time and on time.

Melitech Design, under the direction of Stefan Attard Bason, offers a one-stop shop for research and development for local and foreign manufacturers.

Mr Attard Bason has long had a passion for industrial research and product design. Throughout his career, he has collected experience and knowledge overseas.

On his return to Malta, Mr Attard Bason worked as a freelance electrical designer built a solid client portfolio of foreign and local clients. He later moved into a joint-venture with Adpro Instruments Ltd, a local subsidiary of UWT GmbH, his former employers, and today employs seven full-time electronic and mechanical designers, three part-timers and offers a full range of design and support services.

With the support of Malta Enterprise, Melitech Design is on its way to further expand its operations with the extension of the current premises to a total area of over 850 square metres. In just over three years, the company has tripled in terms of head count and its client base has continued to grow.

The future looks bright and challenging. Mr Attard Bason believes that to survive in the competitive landscape and grow and win market share, companies must supply innovative products with value-added features that are cheaper than the competition. Researching and developing new products to improve or develop new products is a no-brainer in the current business world.

Malta Enterprise has launched details of the ERDF R&D grant. A new call is expected early next year. Other schemes are ongoing and do not have a closing date. Details and information may be found at http://support.malta­enterprise.com/RD