Världen är i konstant förändring och drivs framåt genom utveckling av nya och uppdaterade produkter. Utan denna utveckling skulle samhällsutvecklingen troligtvis stanna av. För hur skulle ditt liv se ut utan järnvägen, elektriciteten eller telefonen? Alla dessa förändringar börjar med att en person har en idé som börjar gro och som börjar sin resa mot att nå marknaden. De idéer som mynnar ut i produkter, är av teknisk karaktär och har en höjd av originalitet klassas som uppfinningar, som när väl insteg nås på marknaden blir till innovationer. Alla idéer har dock inte samma förutsättningar att lyckas nå marknaden, utan vissa har stor möjlighet att bli innovationer och vissa har det inte. I de fallen där innehavaren av en idé har som mål att nå insteg med sin uppfinning är det viktigt att i ett så tidigt skede som möjligt kunna särskilja vilka uppfinningar som har potential att göra detta för att ha möjlighet att kunna fokusera sina resurser, så som kapital och tid, på de uppfinningar som har bäst förutsättningar att bli till innovationer. För att kunna få förståelse för huruvida en idé har en affärsmässig potential har vi i det här arbetet undersökt vilka parametrar som påverkar möjligheten att nå insteg. Dessutom har vi undersökt hur en innehavare av en idé kan använda sig utav dessa parametrar för att själv ha möjlighet att analysera och påverka chansen att lyckas. Arbetet har genomförts genom litteraturstudier och kvalitativa intervjuer med personer som har erfarenhet kring uppfinningar och hur dessa når sin tilltänka marknad. Litteraturstudien samt intervjuerna ledde fram till ett antal parametrar som är av intresse att ha kunskap kring. Genom att jämföra dessa med teorin kunde vi analysera fram huruvida de hade inverkan för potentialen att nå marknaden. Ytterligare analys genomfördes för att identifiera hur dessa kan användas för att utvärdera en idé. Parametrarna som identifierades som mest väsentliga för att en uppfinning skulle ha möjlighet att nå insteg är originalitet, marknadskännedom, kunskap och kompetens, drivkraft, öppenhet, timing samt ekonomiska resurser. Det har även visat sig att teori och uppfinnare står långt ifrån varandra när det kommer till hur det praktiskt går till att nå insteg. Uppfinnarna anser att den tekniska lösningen är mest väsentlig medan teorin anser att behovet för produkten hos den tilltänka kunden är det. Vår slutsats är att både den tekniska lösningen och behovet är nödvändigt för att nå insteg, vilket är viktigt att förstå. Uppfinnaren kan få kunskap kring detta genom att arbeta mer strukturerat, se på idén mer objektivt samt genom att göra noggrannare marknadsundersökningar. Vi har även funnit att det är viktigt att våga dela med sig av sin idé, i viss mån, och vara öppen för att kunna få hjälp med kunskap kring kompetens som man inte själv behärskar. Det finns mycket att vinna på att lyckas med att verifiera idéer i ett tidigt stadie för att kunna lägga tid och energi på de idéer som har störst potential att lyckas. Hur detta går till rent praktiskt presenteras sist i rapporten. / The world is in constant change, driven by the development of new and updated products. Without these products, the growth in society would in the worst-case scenario stop completely. Can you imagine how your life would be without the railway, electricity or phone? All these examples have at some point started with a person that has an idea. This person then begins to think about it and at some point, begin the journey to reach the market with it. The ideas that become a product and is of technical nature and at the same time has a height of originality, is classified as an invention. When a market adopts an invention, it becomes an innovation. All ideas have not the same possibility to succeed in the market, some have great potential meanwhile some inventions just fail. In those cases, when a person aim to reach the market with an idea, it’s important to identify if it is one of those that have the possibility, and this is better to have knowledge about at as a early stage as possible. This is important to do, so the inventor can focus their resources, such as capital and time, in the right direction. We have investigated the parameters that affect the ability to achieve entry into a market to get a better understanding of whether an idea has commercial potential or not. We have also in addition to the investigation examined how these parameters can be used to influence the chance of success. The work was done through literature studies and interviews with people who have experience of inventions and the innovation process. The literature review and interviews led to several parameters that are of interest. By comparing this with the theory, we could analyse whether these had effects or not, and if so how much. Further analysis was performed to identify how these can be used in practise. The parameters that were identified as most important was originality, market awareness, knowledge and skills, motivation, transparency, timing and financial resources. We have also proved that theory and reality are far apart when it comes to how innovators work and how researchers think is the best way. The inventors believe that the technical solution is the most significant parameter, while the theory considers the need for the product is the most important. Our conclusion is that both the technical solution and the need are necessary to achieve entry into the market. The inventor can obtain knowledge about all these parameters by working with more structure, look at the idea more objectively and make inquiries with potential customers. We have also found that it is important to share the idea with others, but only to a certain level due to demands for patent grants, to be able to get help to gain knowledge about the parameters that the individual does not possess. There is much to gain from the success of verifying ideas at an early stage, so time and energy can be allocated to the ideas with the greatest potential to succeed. How innovators can use the parameters in a practical way are presented at the end of the report.

The purpose of this thesis is to study the oil skimming market and evaluate what drives company competitiveness and market attractiveness. Throughout the thesis, the total oil skimming market has been divided into an industrial market and an offshore market as these applications have entirely different requirements. However, the skimming market in general is underdeveloped and the long lifetime of the equipment has a negative impact on the market development speed. It is therefore characterised by a fragmented body of competitors and diverging pricing. Instead of price being an order-winning aspect, recovery rate and ability to pick up a large variety of oils has been found to be important.   In this inductive, and interpretivistic case study, a model for market analysis of an underdeveloped market is developed and applied to Sandvik Process Systems’ oil skimming business. The study is based on an extensive interview program with oil skimming equipment manufacturers, and oil spill response companies. The model comprises of an external, and an internal analysis synthesised into a SWOT-matrix from which five strategic directions are extracted. These directions are described as well as their respective business impact on Sandvik Process Systems.   Sandvik Process Systems’ skimmer is a steel belt skimmer developed in the 1960’s. With a lifting height of up to three metres and a width of up to 400 mm, the Sandvik oil skimmer is capable of lifting 354 litres per hour in optimal conditions. Compared to its competitors, the skimmer is a low cost alternative priced at 66-75% below industry average.   However, the results of the analysis indicate a poor competitiveness of Sandvik Process Systems’ product. Due to an inferior technology, Sandvik Process Systems’ skimmer lacks the capacity needed to target the offshore market. Therefore, the product can only target the industrial market. Meanwhile, many competitors offer complete solution packages including as pumps, storage tanks, and a variety of specialised skimmers in order to increase their competitiveness.   Looking at the competitors it is clear that Sandvik Process Systems’ skimmer does have advantages. However, many of the advantages are based on organisational strengths which are difficult to leverage. Also, the organisation does not have any experience from the oil skimming market and due to the small size of the market, it is doubtful if Sandvik Process Systems are able to devote the necessary resources to overcome this hurdle. Due to a revenue target set at EUR 2.33 million, Sandvik Process System’s skimmer would require a 23.9% of the market value or 119% of the number of skimmers sold.   Despite this thesis reaching the conclusion that Sandvik Process Systems should not enter the oil skimming market; it also stipulates that Sandvik Process Systems does have the potential to successfully sell skimmers. However, reaching the goal of EUR 2.33 million is deemed unlikely.

Many rural communities in South Africa do not have running water or electricity. The fetching and heating of water is therefore a time consuming and expensive daily ritual. The use of energy sources such as wood or coal are not readily available and cause environmental pollution. Although solar water heaters are commonly available in South Africa, they are very seldom used in rural areas. Whilst this can mostly be attributed to a high system cost, current designs also do not cater for specific rural problems such as the transporting or purification of water. A prototype model, designed with such an approach in mind, has already been constructed by TEMM International (Pty.) Ltd. The Solar Heat Barrow (SHB) was developed in the 1992 to 2003 period with the intention of combining a number of functions at low cost. Specific requirements were: low cost, a suitable design and materials for manufacture in large volume, sufficiently durable taking into account the harsh conditions of use. suitability for cases where no in-house piped water supply was available, the use of appropriate technology and the improvement of quality of life. The unit combines the absorption of solar radiation, the heating of a relatively small volume of water, the transport of the water from the point of supply and the storage of the hot water until it is used. Untreated water sources such as surface waters (streams, rivers, lakes, etc.) or unprotected open wells are the vehicles for waterborne bacterial diseases such as cholera and typhoid fevers. In the case where water is collected from these sources, the SHB has a build-in Purification Dispenser that purifies the water in the collector against waterborne bacterial diseases. Certain research questions need to be answered. They will be answered by demonstrating the SHB in two communities where no in-house piped water supply is available and by establishing the socio-economic response of the users. The research questions are as follow: What are the responses of the users concerning the SHB, in comparison to those of a control group, regarding its operation, durability, utility and satisfaction of needs? What is the daily use of hot water and the reduction in energy use and cost? To what extent will the target community purchase the SHB at the full or subsidised commercial price? Is there a business case that can be developed for the large scale production, marketing. financing and Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) development of the SHB? It was decided to choose a community in the Valley of Thousand Hills in KwaZulu Natal as the demonstration site. The name of the community is Mabedlane. It is a remote rural area 20 km's north of Botha's Hill and is situated along the Umgeni River. The community is dependent on the river for domestic water. Most families are headed by women. The area has low levels of infrastructure, poor roads, a high unemployment rate and poor health facilities. The first survey, which was conducted before the test period started, showed a very positive response from potential users. From 112 questionnaires that were given to the people of Mabedlane, all indicated that they were interested in a product that can transport and heat water for domestic use. The socio-economic study has shown that the price per unit needs to be adapted as 85% of the people who participated in the survey indicated that they would only pay less than R100 for the product. 15% indicated that they would pay between RlOO and R200. From the second and third questionnaires it was clear that the users were satisfied with the heating performances of the SHB. The community was very interested in purchasing a SHB. They have realised that a SHB will improve their standard of living and regard it as a necessity in their day to day activities. It is apparent that people, who will benefit from a SHB most, are those who will not be able to pay the full retail price. Therefore, new business strategies have to be researched when implementing the SHB to the target market in South Africa. The idea of considering ways to sponsorlfund the SHB must also be investigated. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Many rural communities in South Africa do not have running water or electricity. The fetching and heating of water is therefore a time consuming and expensive daily ritual. The use of energy sources such as wood or coal are not readily available and cause environmental pollution. Although solar water heaters are commonly available in South Africa, they are very seldom used in rural areas. Whilst this can mostly be attributed to a high system cost, current designs also do not cater for specific rural problems such as the transporting or purification of water. A prototype model, designed with such an approach in mind, has already been constructed by TEMM International (Pty.) Ltd. The Solar Heat Barrow (SHB) was developed in the 1992 to 2003 period with the intention of combining a number of functions at low cost. Specific requirements were: low cost, a suitable design and materials for manufacture in large volume, sufficiently durable taking into account the harsh conditions of use. suitability for cases where no in-house piped water supply was available, the use of appropriate technology and the improvement of quality of life. The unit combines the absorption of solar radiation, the heating of a relatively small volume of water, the transport of the water from the point of supply and the storage of the hot water until it is used. Untreated water sources such as surface waters (streams, rivers, lakes, etc.) or unprotected open wells are the vehicles for waterborne bacterial diseases such as cholera and typhoid fevers. In the case where water is collected from these sources, the SHB has a build-in Purification Dispenser that purifies the water in the collector against waterborne bacterial diseases. Certain research questions need to be answered. They will be answered by demonstrating the SHB in two communities where no in-house piped water supply is available and by establishing the socio-economic response of the users. The research questions are as follow: What are the responses of the users concerning the SHB, in comparison to those of a control group, regarding its operation, durability, utility and satisfaction of needs? What is the daily use of hot water and the reduction in energy use and cost? To what extent will the target community purchase the SHB at the full or subsidised commercial price? Is there a business case that can be developed for the large scale production, marketing. financing and Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) development of the SHB? It was decided to choose a community in the Valley of Thousand Hills in KwaZulu Natal as the demonstration site. The name of the community is Mabedlane. It is a remote rural area 20 km's north of Botha's Hill and is situated along the Umgeni River. The community is dependent on the river for domestic water. Most families are headed by women. The area has low levels of infrastructure, poor roads, a high unemployment rate and poor health facilities. The first survey, which was conducted before the test period started, showed a very positive response from potential users. From 112 questionnaires that were given to the people of Mabedlane, all indicated that they were interested in a product that can transport and heat water for domestic use. The socio-economic study has shown that the price per unit needs to be adapted as 85% of the people who participated in the survey indicated that they would only pay less than R100 for the product. 15% indicated that they would pay between RlOO and R200. From the second and third questionnaires it was clear that the users were satisfied with the heating performances of the SHB. The community was very interested in purchasing a SHB. They have realised that a SHB will improve their standard of living and regard it as a necessity in their day to day activities. It is apparent that people, who will benefit from a SHB most, are those who will not be able to pay the full retail price. Therefore, new business strategies have to be researched when implementing the SHB to the target market in South Africa. The idea of considering ways to sponsorlfund the SHB must also be investigated. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.