Engage Us

As every business person knows, you should always focus on staying one step ahead. In practice, that means refusing to be satisfied with even your most successful products, and instead continuously seeking out improvements and launching new products. And that is where Fraunhofer USA comes in: We improve your products, enhance their performance, develop entirely new offshoots, and help you to cut costs in areas such as manufacturing and distribution.

Sometimes a successful job involves more than just a tailor-made solution. Developing an innovative prototype is an important step, but the production process often poses similar levels of complexity and must be developed in tandem with the product. Fraunhofer USA researchers can work with the customer to take both product and process all the way through to short-run production – just one way in which Fraunhofer USA helps customers to launch new products swiftly and successfully.

Anticipating a trend and getting your new product onto the market before anyone else is a great way to get ahead. That’s why Fraunhofer USA carefully monitors technological trends and market developments to help customers get ahead of the curve. Fraunhofer USA can also carry out feasibility and profitability studies and provides information on available sources of funding.

Fraunhofer USA is at the cutting edge of technological developments. Fraunhofer USA is your best choice when it comes to transforming these kinds of new technologies into products. Our researchers hit on the right ideas – and they know how to transform them into products and processes.

Fraunhofer USA carries out contract research for companies, but it also carries out its own independent research in some areas, often with interesting results. This pre-competitive research has given rise to inventions that can be commercially exploited by companies under license. 

Markets change – and so do technologies, statutory requirements and economic conditions. Companies change too, by expanding, entering into new partnerships and customizing their product portfolio. There are many reasons why an existing production facility or structure might no longer meet current requirements. Fraunhofer USA experts have extensive experience in finding the best ways to improve technical and organizational processes, motivating people to come up with innovative ideas, and identifying and spurring on under-exploited capabilities.

Development also involves analysis and testing. Fraunhofer USA has an extensive range of high-quality equipment designed to test components, materials, coatings and processes and to reproducibly demonstrate their levels of functionality, safety and reliability. 

Fraunhofer USA is highly regarded by the professional and business communities and by buyers of finished products. That’s why many companies are happy to reveal that their development work was carried out in collaboration with Fraunhofer USA. Nevertheless, all publications require prior approval and we only ever name our customers if we have first obtained their express consent to do so.

In short, yes. Innovations offer the basis for both a successful economy and successful companies. This is especially true in industries where product life cycles are steadily getting ever shorter owing to global competition and rapid technological development. Ideas alone are not enough – you also need experienced professionals who can help you transform your ideas into innovations and, ultimately, into successful products.

Contract research is Fraunhofer USA's main field of business – a fact that is reflected in their employees’ expertise. Fraunhofer USA researchers are familiar with the conditions and constraints that companies encounter on a daily basis and they understand what is important, often because they have worked in the industry themselves.

Our close cooperation with industry partners means we can constantly tailor Fraunhofer USA research to address the mounting challenges that companies face. The cornerstones of our approach are guaranteed confidentiality, continuity in key positions, top-class facilities, and reliable project management. Our efficient style of collaboration ensures that our customers get the agreed solution on time and ready to put into practice. We also handle the issue of usage rights with the utmost professionalism. 

Other research providers, the bulk of whom are publicly funded, may seem like a more economical option at first glance. But what ultimately gives Fraunhofer USA the edge, even from an economic perspective, is its professional approach towards cooperation and its long-standing ties to industry. The high levels of customer satisfaction confirmed by survey after survey are an indication of the excellent reputation and stature that Fraunhofer USA enjoys as a partner to business.

Customers tend to have a fairly concrete idea of the challenge they are facing and the deadlines they must meet, and in many cases they simply make a direct approach to Fraunhofer USA. Feel free to contact us to discuss your needs. 

The scope and scale of cooperation with Fraunhofer USA is flexible, with the Centers catering to the specific needs of each particular client. Successful cooperation often begins with an entry-level project. But regardless of whether your project is large or small, you can be sure you will receive the same professional level of research and development services from Fraunhofer USA and its employees. The classic model of cooperation beings with a one-off contract: A company perceives a need for research or development – for example it wants to launch an innovative product, improve a method or technique, solve a logistical problem, or audit a process to obtain certification. A discussion with Fraunhofer USA identifies possible solutions and clarifies the form the partnership could take and the estimated cost. Regardless of whether the project is large or small, its goal is to solve the problem and to launch the innovation within the company or on the market.

The initial consultation phase is free of charge. Fraunhofer USA only starts charging for its research and development work once the scope of the cooperation has been defined and the corresponding agreements have been finalized.

After-sales service is an important aspect of customer satisfaction. Once the innovation has been launched, you can request specific information from  Fraunhofer USA concerned to address your ongoing needs, for example in the form of staff training and development.

Yes. We always use the very latest, state-of-the-art technical equipment. Also, thanks to the close collaboration between Fraunhofer USA and universities we get access to the most recent developments in each field. Our international activities keep us in touch with the cutting-edge aspects of each field of technology – and of course in many fields the latest technological developments are being pioneered by the Fraunhofer Network itself.

Cooperation with companies is the bread and butter of Fraunhofer USA employees’ work. They see it as their fundamental duty to ensure their work always focuses on practical applications. Thanks to their broad customer base, Fraunhofer USA researchers also have plenty of experience in how companies think and work and have been able to gain major insights into different corporate cultures. Many of our staff worked in industry before they joined Fraunhofer USA. Fraunhofer USA research can best be compared to a company’s outsourced research department, another environment where application of the results is the primary goal. And that is how we define ourselves at Fraunhofer USA, too: We work for businesses, and we help our customers transform knowledge into profit.