Second place at innovation prize Valleiregio Gelderland

On Wednesday 26 November our company, Smesh BV, ended up in a shared second place at the innovation prize 2014 of the Regional Center for Technology in the Gelderse Vallei. We have achieved this second place with our product, the SmeshGear.

Leon Lauwers:

Jan Bosch and I are very proud of the prize and we see it  as recognition for the idea of the name SmeshGear. The idea came about after I discovered the MultiPower switching system from Massey Ferguson: possible to switch gears under full load, impossible to break because it is so simple. But with limitations. When, years later, I saw an almost rusted chilled disc brake, the combination of these two came into being, which completely removed the limitation. I realised that it is a solution to a problem that many constructors had accepted there was no solution to, and had gradually stopped seeing the problem. And it is precisely in this area that Smesh gains a lot.

Jan Bosch:

We are now faced with the next challenge. Put Smesh on the market. We have already received a lot of response from the market, from the automotive industry and industry, and that has accelerated in recent months.

The jury consisted of Christiaan de Nooij, director of De Nooij Stainless BV, Mirjam Leloux, Sr lecturer/researcher Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences, Aart van de Pol, Managing Director at Lagerwey Wind BV, Martin Ruiter, Co-owner QING Group and Chairman of the Federation of Entrepreneurial Groups in Valleiregio and Olav Duijn, Entrepreneur and investor.

Christiaan de Nooij:

A truly revolutionary innovation that has unprecedented global potential, namely switching gears without loss of efficiency. Interesting for every form of (electric) drive that contributes to a sustainable solution.

A total of 16 submissions were assessed. Smesh ended up inthe final against: TOP bv from Wageningen and Jansen Area innovation from Barneveld.

Smesh is the best of three existing transmissions: the simplicity of a manual transmission, the convenience of an automatic transmission and the efficiency as though there is no transmission. It is simple, easy and more durable than any existing transmission. Smesh can slow down, accelerate and/or reverse at full load while maintaining efficiency. As a result, a much smaller engine and lighter infrastructure can be chosen. For example, the Smesh can be used in the industry on powertrains, lathes, a shovel, an electric bicycle, an engine, car or a windmill. The applications are endless. The energy source is not decisive nor is the size of the engine. A nice feat is the Trefecta, an electrically supported moutainbike, which hits a slope of more than 30 degrees with over 25 km/h and at the same time achieves a top speed of more than 70 km per hour.

Every year, the Regional Technology Center in the Gelderse Vallei, together with the VNO-NCW Valleiregio, the Federation of Business Association Valleiregio and BDU Media, awards an innovation prize for the most innovative invention in the manufacturing industry within the SME sector.