Hills has been ranked 20th on the 2014 BRW Most Innovative Companies List. The list, compiled annually, recognises 50 of Australia’s most innovative businesses.
Hills CEO Ted Pretty said he was delighted with the result, which follows the ASX’s recent reclassification of Hills from an industrial capital goods company to a technology company.
“Over the past 18 months, we have made a number of strategic acquisitions and grown our market position and profile to become a leading provider of integrated technological solutions,” he said.
“Our solutions span security, digital media, health and aged care, home networking and communications and mobility – a huge departure from our roots as the makers of the Hills Hoist.
“This is welcome recognition for Hills and our people and shows how we’ve continued to innovate to survive and succeed in today’s technology-driven world.”
Hills was awarded 20th place for its focus on supporting and enabling innovation in Australia. In the last 12 months, the company has undertaken the following activities:
• In May this year, Hills partnered with the South Australian Government to open its first Innovation Centre in Adelaide. The Hills Innovation Centre consisting of the Lance Hill Design Centre and Hills D-Shop, supports and funds new and innovative next generation technology ideas, projects and start-ups. The first project – a nurse call handset for arthritic patients and aged care residents – is well progressed and has just passed the prototyping stage. The handset has the potential to improve care and support for the 4 million Australians living with arthritis.
• Hills has also established biannual Pitch Days which gives entrepreneurs and innovators the opportunity to pitch for funding and business assistance for their ideas, projects or start-ups. The next Pitch Day will be held on 12 November.
• To help drive our own internal innovation pipeline, Hills has established a dedicated product innovation team which works exclusively on product innovations and reports directly to the chief technology officer, Leica Ison. The product innovation team conducts market analyses, identifies new opportunities and generates new ideas, taking them from concept to launch. ♦
“This is welcome recognition for Hills and our people and shows how we’ve continued to innovate to survive and succeed in today’s technology-driven world.”
