Northeast Competence Center Triples Revenue
Here, projects such as iWAMO, an acronym for “Intelligent Waste Monitoring” are born and grow, which involves the Paduan company IT+Robotics, founded in 2005 as a spin-off of the University of Padua, to optimize the quality control of recyclable waste that today occurs on a sample basis and manually, or even Bridge, a technologically innovative and predictive Artificial Intelligence model, which was created to support master brewers and breweries during the beer manufacturing process signed by Omnia Technologies. Just two examples to give an idea of what happens inside the Competence Center of the Northeast, which closed the year with results that strengthen its ability to systematize 4.0-5.0 excellence and create virtuous mechanisms of “contamination” between technology providers, end users, universities and research centers.
SMACT in Padua, home of the Competence Center. Area dedicated to internal technological demonstrators
In detail, SMACT Competence Center closed 2024 with revenues of 10 million euros (of which 1.4 million in contributions paid by MiMIT), tripling the figure of 3 million euros recorded in 2021, the year the current governance took over. Positive data also on the profitability front, with a characteristic Ebitda of 1.5 million.
SMACT of Padua, home of the Competence Center - Interior spaces
The recently approved business plan aims at medium-term sustainability, even beyond the end of the current financing cycle linked to the PNRR, and foresees further growth in revenues to 15 million euros, and profitability to 1.9 million, at the end of the current year.
"The results achieved are the fruit of a business model oriented towards concreteness and sustainability," says Massimo Guglielmi, president of SMACT Competence Center. "SMACT has grown thanks to the opportunity of the PNRR, but the solidity achieved allows us to look to the coming years with optimism and to aim to generate even more value for our partners. SMACT is increasingly finding its role as an aggregator of a large innovation ecosystem that finds in it the opportunities to collaborate both from a technological point of view and in the construction of value-added proposals for the market."
SMACT in Padua, home of the Competence Center. The 4.0 bakery where sandwich bread is produced and is managed in collaboration with the social cooperative Work Crossing, which helps prisoners re-enter the world of work.
The activities and services offered by SMACT to businesses are growing in step with its financial results. The partner companies of the SMACT ecosystem have exceeded 100. In 2024 alone, research, development and innovation projects were launched, involving universities and technological partners, for a value of 4.5 million euros, while consultancy services generated 2.8 million euros, serving more than 200 businesses. This is accompanied by the training offer: in the budget year, 50 courses worth 800 thousand euros were provided, for a total of 1,800 hours of training. All thanks to a team that has grown over time to 27 units, with 14 new entries in 2024.
In terms of co-financing of experimental research and development projects with PNRR funds, SMACT has launched a total of 98 projects in the last three years, of which 39 in 2024, involving 111 companies (55 large, 17 medium, 39 small or micro) and 10 different universities and research centers, activating collaborations with 77 research groups. A total of 14.6 million euros in co-financing were disbursed, of which 12.7 in the years 2023-24. In 2024, SMACT also became active on three European projects, Guardians and Teapots, dedicated to agrifood companies, and Friend Europe, focused on the internationalization of companies.
SMACT of Padua, home of the Competence Center - Interior spaces
"2024 has been a year of significant growth for SMACT, not only in terms of financial solidity, but above all for the concrete impact we are generating on the business fabric" says Matteo Faggin, general manager. "The growing number of innovation projects and consultancy services demonstrates how much companies, especially SMEs, feel the need to turn to a super-partes reality to start digital and environmental transition paths. SMACT, together with its academic and technological partners, is able to respond to these needs with expertise and by proposing effective solutions, assisting companies in their technological evolution path, each necessarily unique". The SMACT Ecosystem, and its ability to generate value for Italian companies, is at the center of the event that the Competence Center has organized for Tuesday 13 May at 5 pm at the Centro Culturale Altinate San Gaetano in Padua entitled "Open Innovation: the challenge for the evolution of companies". A public and institutional meeting designed to bring together national stakeholders, businesses, research bodies and institutions to discuss the future of innovation. Speakers will include, among others, Valentino Valentini, Deputy Minister of MIMIT, Daniela Mapelli, Rector of the University of Padua, Elena Donazzan, Vice President of the Commission for Industry, Research and Energy of the European Parliament, Gianluigi Rozza, President of the Supervisory Board of SMACT, and Antonio Santocono, President of Unioncamere del Veneto.
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