INNOVAATION OY UUSI TEHDAS

Their core work

Innovaation Oy Uusi Tehdas, operating under the Hermia brand in Tampere, Finland, is an innovation hub and technology ecosystem that connects research institutions with manufacturing SMEs. Their practical role in EU projects is to provide industry grounding — bringing real SME environments, manufacturing pilot sites, and business modeling competence to otherwise research-heavy consortia. In the ReconCell project, they contributed not just as a technical partner but as the link between robot assembly research and the actual SMEs that would adopt it. They are, in essence, a commercialization and adoption bridge inside technical projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both projects cover the same period (2015–2019), which limits any true temporal analysis. What the data does show is a contrast in roles: in ETN-FPI they appeared as a peripheral third party with no recorded keywords, while in ReconCell they were a funded participant with a well-defined technical and business scope. This suggests their identity sharpened over the period toward a clear niche — manufacturing automation support for SMEs, with business modeling as their differentiating contribution. There is no post-2019 H2020 data to confirm whether this trajectory continued, which is a significant gap in the profile.

Their trajectory points toward being a deployment-side partner in manufacturing automation projects — organizations planning Industry 4.0 or robot adoption work with SME end-users would find them a useful consortium anchor in the Nordic region.

How they like to work

They have never coordinated an H2020 project, consistently joining as participant or third party, which positions them as a reliable supporting partner rather than a project driver. Their 23 unique partners across 11 countries from just 2 projects suggests they integrate well into large, diverse consortia. This profile fits an organization that adds specific value (SME networks, industry context) rather than one seeking to lead research agendas.

Despite only two projects, they have connected with 23 unique consortium partners across 11 countries, reflecting the broad, multi-national consortia typical of MSCA and Innovation Actions. Their Finnish base and Tampere technology park ecosystem likely give them strong Nordic and Baltic industry ties that do not fully appear in the H2020 record.

What sets them apart

Most participants in manufacturing robotics projects are universities or engineering firms — Hermia/Uusi Tehdas brings something rarer: direct access to a live SME ecosystem and the ability to run real-world manufacturing pilots. Their explicit focus on business modeling within a technical robotics project signals that they understand the adoption gap between research prototypes and factory-floor deployment. For a consortium needing an SME-facing partner in Finland or the Nordic region, they fill a role that pure research organizations cannot.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ReconCell
  Their only funded project and the clearest signal of their expertise — a €381K participation in an Innovation Action delivering reconfigurable robot workCells specifically designed for SME manufacturing environments.
• ETN-FPI
  Participation as a third party in a Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network on Full Parallax Imaging shows willingness to engage with early-stage research and doctoral training outside their core manufacturing focus.