“Not all the smart people work for you. Innovation thrives when you open your borders and let others help.”
— Henry Chesbrough, creator of the concept of Open Innovation
In 2017, we opened the doors of the factory where I worked like never before. Literally. We invited startups, universities, technology centers, students, and consultancies to experience firsthand the challenges faced by industrial production at the dawn of the 4.0 era. This is how Breaking FAB was born—our interpretation of open innovation applied to the heart of a car factory.
This entire initiative was firmly supported and sponsored by the highest levels of management. It was part of the production strategy, which I already discussed [here].
Why did we do it?
Amid the digital transformation, we understood that we couldn’t face it alone. The speed of change, the diversity of emerging technologies, and the complexity of our industrial processes demanded a rethink of how we innovated. Inspired by Chesbrough’s Open Innovation model, we decided to create a collaboration framework with external talent, but adapted to our operational and cultural reality. Thus, Breaking FAB was born—not only as a manifesto event but as a collaborative platform with the ambition of continuity.
One event, many worlds converging
On October 26, 2017, 325 participants from very diverse backgrounds visited our facilities in Martorell. They toured our production lines, heard firsthand about the real challenges our teams faced, and learned about the technological, organizational, and human barriers we aimed to overcome.
Split into three different routes, attendees were introduced to 16 key challenges, each with a clear structure: current situation, desired situation, and real limitations. Beyond the numbers, what mattered most was the spirit: we shared our vulnerability—and that built trust.
Following the event, within just three weeks we received 120 solution proposals. Many of them led to pilots, stable collaborations, and even the creation of new innovation ecosystems—such as the one we launched with a startup specialized in virtual reality.
A purposeful model: innovation focuses as a compass
What made Breaking FAB especially powerful was its alignment with a clear strategic vision. It wasn’t just about opening the factory to external ideas, but doing so with direction, focus, and a compass pointing toward where we wanted to evolve as a production system. That compass was the nine innovation focuses, which served as a framework for designing challenges, selecting proposals, and transforming ideas into real impact. You can find more detail about these focuses in [this article].
For example, from the beginning we knew we needed to break down silos and work in a more open and cross-functional way. That’s how the Innovation Platform was born, allowing us to launch challenges with traceability and real-time KPIs, and more importantly, to generate a new culture—one where knowledge flows, barriers fall, and internal pride multiplies. It became the foundation of our new digital and connected culture.
In terms of work tools, some projects sparked by the event—such as the use of virtual reality in assembly trials or the creation of collaborative platforms for project management—reinforced our vision of a digital work environment where the physical and virtual are integrated to accelerate decision-making.
One of the most iconic cases was the Global Colour Matching Management, a project born directly from Breaking FAB, which connected suppliers and internal teams to ensure real-time color matching. A clear proof that building an efficient network between supplier, factory, and customer is not only possible, but also an operational necessity.
We also tackled challenges related to artificial intelligence and advanced analytics. Among the proposals received, several stood out in predictive analytics—such as cognitive assistants capable of learning from stamping experts and suggesting solutions to quality problems. It was our first real contact with tools like Watson and opened the door to a new way of decision-making. At the time, Generative AI was still a dream, but today, it would clearly have been the star of that challenge.
In other cases, the challenges focused on improving production processes through technologies like 3D printing or advanced sensing. Thanks to these initiatives, we explored new materials, more representative prototypes, and more agile ways to validate designs—helping make our production more robust and efficient.
No less relevant was our commitment to real-time process control. In areas like stamping, thermographic systems were proposed that not only detected cracks but learned to predict them and automatically adjusted machine parameters. Live data as a continuous improvement tool.
We also used the event as a testing ground for ideas that needed to be simulated before implementation. This gave rise to connections with our digital factory and flow simulation projects, allowing us to validate proposals without affecting real operations.
Real-time tracking was another priority line. Several proposals aimed to facilitate access to key workshop data from mobile interfaces—even using voice commands, as in the eQSoV project—making process traceability easier without interrupting manual work.
Lastly, advanced automation also had its place. Startups presented ideas in mobile robotics and logistics automation, such as the use of LGV vehicles to automate train loading and unloading, which later turned into real pilots.
Keys to success: beyond enthusiasm
The tangible results were important, but what truly made Breaking FAB successful was something deeper:
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Real collaboration with Purchasing and Legal Services, who helped define new processes to enable agile contracting of innovative solutions while respecting compliance and intellectual property frameworks.
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A dedicated team (the Smart Factory Team) focused on orchestrating innovation in production and quality.
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Organizational agility: we worked with short deadlines, fast decisions, and a prototyping mindset.
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And above all, a mindset shift: we learned to look beyond our borders without fear of losing control—and with a willingness to learn from others.
From event to platform: institutionalizing openness
After the initial success, Breaking FAB evolved into an open innovation platform—available online—where any external collaborator can access real challenges from our factories and continuously propose solutions. This allowed us to:
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Gain agility, no longer depending on one-off events.
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Attract global talent, beyond geographic limits.
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Centralize and trace the entire process, professionalizing our way of collaborating with the ecosystem.
What we learned (and will never forget)
Internal talent shines when given space
Although the goal was to attract external talent, one of the big surprises was discovering the immense potential we already had inside. The involvement of volunteers—before, during, and after the event—was spectacular. Their motivation, creativity, and commitment brought out the best in many. Breaking FAB acted as a catalyst for pride, purpose, and internal energy.
Trying to do everything can blur your focus
In our eagerness to maximize impact, we defined no less than 16 innovation challenges. It was too much. We didn’t properly assess the workload and struggled to bring them all to completion. The innovation funnel is clear: many ideas die along the way—and that’s fine—but you need focus. If we could do it again, we’d probably select three key challenges—well-defined, with committed teams and resources from the start.
As a brand and talent attraction event, it was a blast
Beyond operational outcomes, Breaking FAB positioned us as an open, innovative, and human industrial benchmark. Its impact was such that, in February 2018, we received the award for the best talent development program at the Advanced Factories fair in Barcelona. It was recognition of a new way to understand industrial collaboration.
The value of opening up (again)
Breaking FAB was not an isolated experiment. It was a paradigm shift that left its mark and laid the foundation for how we understand innovation in our factories today. And although there were mistakes, the learning was deep.
As Chesbrough said, not everyone who can help you works for you. And we would add: you don’t even know how many of those who already work with you are just waiting for you to let them try.
Here’s a video from the event.