Daniel Rowntree has over 20 years experience of developing new products with a wide range of manufacturers from small family run concerns with turnovers of £5m to automotive OEMs and first tier suppliers with turnovers of £24bn. In all of these organisations, he has built a reputation for introducing new and more effective tools and processes in order to develop products and manage development projects.

He has endeavoured to bring the very best product development practices into every part of each organisation from the drawing board to the board room to ensure that the products are successful on the market.

And more successful products on the market mean:

1. Greater returns on investment
2. Greater market share and stronger market position
3. More job security and job opportunities for employees
4. More resource available to reinvest in further product development and capital equipment
5. Better opportunities for company growth

Daniel takes a different approach to product development from many in the industry. He thinks at a strategic level, putting new product development at the heart of the business and the nerve centre for the future. His way of working with the wider development team, not just the core designers, has delighted many and resulted in reduced development costs and lead times along with increased product quality.

During economic downturns, he has developed products which have resulted in sales orders increasing by a factor of 10. To see the effect that this has on the workforce is inspiring and one of the key factors which drives him to do more.

Yet it still frustrates him that there are so many manufacturers out there who invest in product development, but the majority of their new products do not bring in the returns that were expected of them. In fact, there are numerous studies carried out both in North America and here in Europe which show that a staggering 70% of products fail in the market, and in some industries the failure rate is as high as 90%.

Daniel’s success has come by identifying ways of adapting tools and processes to the individual cultures of organisations so that the processes work for those in the development team rather than the team members working for the processes. Done correctly, this frees up the team members to concentrate on their job of forging the future success of their business.