In addition to 'Startup meets Crafts', the 'Space meets Crafts' format is the most important networking platform between the Munich startup scene and the craft businesses in Munich and Upper Bavaria. AZO Space of Innovation and its ESA BIC Bavaria program The Chamber of Crafts for Munich and Upper Bavaria (HWK) invites you to a B2B speed dating event between high-tech startups and high-tech craft businesses.
In contrast to the event 'Startup meets craftsmanship', where startups present their innovative solutions for craftspeople, at 'Space meets Handwerk', the craft businesses themselves are in demand as competent partners for the startups' complex manufacturing tasks. Compared to industry, they offer the advantage that, thanks to their smaller and more flexible structures, they can provide assistance, especially with prototypes and small series – and not just anywhere in the world, but more or less right on your doorstep.
6 craft companies meet 6 startups
Last week, it was that time again: 'Space meets Handwerk' entered a new round. The diversity of SMEs in the region became clear during the short introduction round of all participants. From micron-precise manufacturing of precision parts using CNC turning and milling to additive manufacturing and injection molding to electronics development, everything was on offer. This also convinced the Head of ESA Entrepreneurship & Business Incubation Services, Niels Eldering and the startups present: Aatral, Arnell, Deltavision, Devanthro, Munich Quantum Instruments and Symphera from the AZO.
Georg Raess, innovation consultant at the Munich Chamber of Crafts and Trades and organizer of 'Space meets Handwerk', explains how the participating startups are selected:
"Once a year, I receive a list of startups from the ESA BIC program from AZO that are looking for competent R&D partners in the region. The startups provide me with a kind of wish list of skills that the potential partners should have. Then I start looking for suitable candidates from our network of skilled trades businesses. I invite suitable companies to speed dating with the startups. This quickly determines whether there is a 'match' between the startup and the skilled trades business."
No language barrier, time difference and VPN tunnel
For Räß, the advantages of a match are clear:
"Skilled trades companies are the ideal R&D partners for high-tech startups: They have high manufacturing capabilities, are significantly more flexible than industrial companies, and are also located locally. This means that tricky tasks can be discussed directly on-site, without language barriers, time differences, or VPN tunnels."
Jacob Altaylar, Project Manager ESA BIC Bavaria, adds:
"The Chamber of Crafts for Munich and Upper Bavaria is of enormous strategic importance as a shareholder and partner of the AZO. With 'Space meets Handwerk', a now highly successful platform for initiating cooperation between craft businesses and startup companies from the ESA BIC program has been established in collaboration with the Chamber of Crafts. It is remarkable that companies associated with the Chamber of Crafts have developed over the years from regional craft businesses to globally active high-tech companies. This modern transformation enables our startups from the ESA BIC Bavaria to access this technical expertise for the realization of critical space projects.
Every startup driving hardware development knows how difficult it is to realize the first prototypes in the initial phase and then move on to the first series production. This is precisely where the Chamber of Crafts provides practical solutions for companies in our ecosystem, and this aspect makes the partnership with the Chamber of Crafts indispensable for our ecosystem."
6 x 10-minute speed dating sessions
After a brief welcome from Dr. Frank Hüpers, Managing Director of the Munich Chamber of Crafts and Trades, Georg Räß and Thomas Ballatré, Project Manager ESA BIC Bavaria at AZO, introduced the participants to the special format. After a round of introductions from all participating companies, the speed dating session followed. Each startup and skilled trades business had ten minutes to discuss their interests and potential collaboration opportunities. Six ten-minute sessions were enough to fill the hour. A social gathering with networking rounded off the event.
The Munich Chamber of Crafts and Trades (HWK) will subsequently investigate whether any collaborations will emerge from the evening—and if so, which ones exactly. Experience from recent years, however, shows that it's not necessarily the most obvious matches that lead to successful collaborations beyond the evening.
