Because innovation doesn't always begin with an answer. Sometimes, it begins with a better question
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Before the answer, there is a question
Innovation is often described by what comes out of it. But perhaps the most interesting part happens before there is anything to show
Reading time: 3 min
A new product.
A new technology.
A new application.
These are the visible signs of innovation. But by the time something new becomes visible, much of the innovation has already happened.
It happened in the questions that were asked.
In assumptions that were challenged.
In connections made between things that, at first, seemed unrelated.
When “more” becomes a question
Ceramic manufacturing has changed enormously. Technology has advanced. Performance has increased. Processes have evolved. The possibilities available to manufacturers have multiplied. And much of that “more” has created real value.
But more also brings more variable, more interdependence, more resources moving through increasingly complex systems..
At some point, this makes a different question worth asking:
Does creating more value always require adding more?
Not because “less” is inherently better. But because understanding what really creates value may be more interesting than simply adding to what is already there
A question changes where you look
Once you stop asking what else can we add?, other things come into view.
The product itself is important but the entire system around needs to be consedered.
How much material has to move before that product can be used?
How many steps does a process require?
How far is production from the market it serves?
How quickly can technical expertise reach a problem?
How easily can knowledge move between the people working on it?Suddenly, innovation is no longer only about improving what chemistry can do.
The question becomes broader:
Where can chemistry make the whole system work better?
And that changes the focus. From adding performance to concentrating value.
The innovation may be in the connection
A product, a process, a supply chain and a technical conversation may appear to be very different things. But from the perspective of value, they are part of the same system.
A more concentrated formulation can affect logistics.
A different physical form can remove a production step.
A different production footprint can shorten supply chains.
Closer application expertise can change how quickly a technical problem becomes a workable solution.
None of these ideas is particularly radical on its own. The interesting part is what happens when they are connected.
Chemistry with process. Performance with resources.
Production with geography. Expertise with proximity.
Looking at these connections gradually created a different centre of gravity. That thinking eventually took a form. We call it CORE
We call it CORE
Innovation is not a good idea, it's an idea that works
Not only in a formulation, but in the conditions around it: production, handling, application, logistics and everyday use. And this is often where the original idea changes again.
Two developments that became part of the CORE project are useful examples.
With GRITMED SC, the starting point was concentration. But the consequences went beyond the formulation: less product to store, transport and handle.
With TIXOLAM SC, the same principle led somewhere else. A concentrated liquid formulation also meant questioning preparation itself: could dissolution and pre-gel steps simply disappear?
Two applications. Two technical challenges. Two different outcomes.
What matters here is not that they share a product concept. What matters is that the original question was allowed to lead to different answers. That is an important part of innovation too.
Not deciding what the solution should look like before understanding what the problem really needs.
Explore the technologies behind CORE
Sometimes innovation changes the question again
Something else happened along the way.
Once the discussion moves from the product to the system around it, another variable becomes visible: distance.
Not only physical distance.
The distance between a customer and technical expertise. Between an application problem and the people who can test a solution. Between where something is developed and where it ultimately has to work.
That leads to a very different innovation question:
What needs to be closer?
The answer is not necessarily another product. It may be production. A laboratory. Application expertise. Or simply the ability to sit around the same problem with someone who understands its local context.
This is why the network of nine technical and industrial hubs became relevant to the same journey that led to CORE.
Not as a footprint to display. But because proximity can change the way innovation happens. It shortens feedback loops. It brings different knowledge into the conversation earlier. It allows an idea to be tested closer to reality. And perhaps most importantly, it makes innovation less about delivering an answer and more about developing one together.
Being global is not enough. You need to be close.
Simone Tassi - Ceramic Director
The outcome is only part of the story
We tend to recognise innovation when we can finally see it.
A product launches. A technology gets a name. A new proposition appears.
But those are outcomes. The less visible part came before.
Observing. Noticing that something could work differently.
Questioning. Being willing to challenge assumptions that have worked for years.
Connecting. Allowing chemistry, process, production, logistics, application and people to influence one another.
Testing. Discovering which ideas survive contact with reality and which ones need to change.
And then doing it again. Observe. Question. Connect. Test.
There is no guarantee that this process leads where we expected. And perhaps that is precisely the point.
Because innovation is not about knowing the answer first.
It is about creating the conditions in which a better answer can emerge.
Some questions are better explored together
Continue the conversation.
Some questions are better explored together.
At TECNA 2026, CORE becomes an opportunity to continue this conversation around real ceramic applications, processes and challenges.
TECNA 2026
22–25 September 2026
Rimini Expo Centre
Hall B7 · Stand D004