MIX Design Week at Newell Rubbermaid
Last week, MIX Southwest Michigan held a MIX Design Week from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 in Kalamazoo, MI. This event brought together local creators and innovators to meet, share insights and experiences. Beyond Design was able to make it to Thursday’s events that included the following:
• Event 1: Inside Innovation – which consisted of a panel discussion of three people: Bo Roe (Director, Innovation – Newell Rubbermaid), Efrain Velez (Senior Designer – Landscape Forms) and Leif Norland (Director of Design, North America – Whirlpool).
The group shared insights about innovation and some methods that have made their companies successful. Discussion topics included understanding the global market, how to leverage brand, struggles of new product development, and pros and cons of local manufacturing.
• Event 2: Parade of Companies – During the Design Week, Beyond Design was able to visit a couple of companies organized by MIX.The two companies were Fabri-Kal and Newell Rubbermaid.
At Fabri-Kal, we were able to tour their thermo-forming manufacturing facility. The tour showcased the steps required to manufacture its containers, while providing more knowledge and understanding of the tools and techniques for the team to consider when developing new products.
This was totally opposite at Newell Rubbermaid as their highlighted the new design facility. Their tour showcased their big open collaborate environment, which the team got to see some upcoming trends within their many different brands, giving inspiration for our design team.
Both of these events were great networking opportunities for Beyond Design as a large number manufacturers, designers, engineers, and other related personnel from different industries were in attendance.
Thank you for MIX Southwest Michigan for putting on another successful get-together and to Fabri-Kal and Newell Rubbermaid for hosting the tours.