Irish start-up company "FeelTect" wins final of the L&R Accelerator Program
Rengsdorf, 15 December 2023– For the international medical device supplier Lohmann & Rauscher (L&R), innovation and development of products and services are essential in order to respond even better to customers' needs. The company has a vibrant culture of innovation, which has been given a further exciting facet through the L&R Accelerator Program, which was implemented for the first time in 2023. Following a kick-off event in summer, numerous start-up companies developed ideas and approaches in various business areas of the company. At the final pitch event, the start-up "FeelTect" emerged as the winner.
The continuous development of products and services is essential, especially in the medical device and med-tech sector. After all, this is the way to find the best solutions for patients and thus make an important contribution to healthcare. L&R's innovative strength ranges from product development with a broad portfolio of over 60,000 products to manufacturing at its own production sites and supplying customers. And it involves a culture that is open to and strives for ideas and innovations. This can also be seen, for example, in the five in-house research and development centers, which provide the opportunity for a constant exchange with users about products and services. With the L&R Accelerator Program, the company took a new path in 2023 to strengthen its innovative power.
From the kick-off workshop to the pitch final
In spring and summer 2023, the L&R Digital Market Solutions Division and the "L&R Digital Lab" organized kick-off workshops, panel discussions and a kick-off event with interested start-up companies at the L&R site in Rengsdorf/Germany. They then spent several weeks developing digital product and service ideas and solutions. The first L&R Accelerator Program culminated in the autumn with an exciting pitch event with 6 start-ups at the Austrian headquarter in Vienna.
The start-up companies "FeelTect", "Moon Technologies", "chunkx", "family.cards", "Comunicare Solutions" and "Clypp" pitched for first place. In the end, the Irish start-up company FeeltTect was able to convince the jury and won the pitch - with a sensor solution for compression therapy called "Tight Alright".
Andrew Cameron, founder and CEO of the winning start-up FeelTect: „We were delighted that FeelTect were selected to participate in the L&R Accelerator Program. We admire their commitment to the improvement of wound care and their impressive portfolio of compression products, so it was a fantastic opportunity to learn from L&R experts and work with them on integrating our connected-health, compression monitoring technology – Tight Alright. We were also fortunate to participate alongside such a high calibre group of digital health start-ups, so it was an amazing outcome for us to win the overall prize. We are extremely grateful to all involved in the program and look forward to advancing wound care together.“ *
Wolfgang Suessle, CEO & President of the L&R group: "We would like to congratulate all participating start-ups and all colleagues involved! We have received very valuable ideas and concepts from creative, dynamic start-ups and are incredibly proud of how many fruits the L&R Accelerator Program has already borne. Together with FeelTect, we are shaping and developing the future of healthcare through innovation, digital solutions and collaboration."
Although the L&R Accelerator Program has come to an end with the pitch event and the resulting winning start-up, it is also a beginning: when it comes to implementing the ideas and solutions developed, L&R relies on long-term collaboration with the start-up companies. The first collaborations are already underway. Due to its great success, L&R is planning the L&R Accelerator Program 2.0, i.e. the continuation of the program, for autumn 2024