This is how the beautiful Maestro innovations come to life

Maestro Latt, our newest innovation

Maestro Latt is the latest introduction from Depro Profiles in the Maestro Inspiring Interiors do-it-yourself range. The product was recently presented at the professional trade fair Prowood, but interested parties can already purchase the stylish wall panels from a DIY store or timber merchant in the area. Perhaps only a few will consider how such a product is created, so we would like to give you a look behind the scenes (or the panels) at manufacturer Depro Profiles.

Ideas from all areas of the company

While the majority of companies focus on large-scale market research to gain insight into what end customers want, ideas for new products within Depro Profiles invariably come from all levels of the company itself: management, sales and production. A genuine innovation working group is the vehicle within which these ideas are raised and tested.

"A balanced mix of people assesses whether an idea can be translated into an aesthetically pleasing and manufacturable concept."

“Every 2 to 3 weeks, the innovation working group meets on Friday,” says the Innovation Coordinator within Depro Profiles. “In addition to owner Jacques Desmet, this think tank is supplemented by 3 people from the sales department and another 3 from production. This balanced mix of profiles means that we can immediately make an assessment of whether an idea, whether it comes from the owner, employees or customers, can be translated into an aesthetic, but above all also feasible concept. This may concern small products with a technical character, such as clips, but also complete wall systems, such as Maestro Latt now.”

Taste test via internal panel to employees

To get an idea of how fertile the breeding ground is for a new product, the judgment of the Depro employees is then called upon. “The advantage of this is twofold,” says the Innovation Coordinator. “On the one hand, with different product variants you can get an indication of which variants are doing well and which are less popular, but on the other hand, that survey also results in more involvement of the employees, and that is what we aim for. After all, everyone's opinion matters!”

Profitable pricing for the target audience

The last step is perhaps the biggest challenge: putting a correct price on the great innovation. “For the production of Maestro Latt, for example, the investment in a new machine turned out to be necessary. If you then want to be able to put a profitable price on a product, you have to estimate the throughput speeds properly. But the sales figures of new products show that we were right,” concludes the Innovation Coordinator.