With the current financial crisis driving the U.S. economy into a deeper hole, it’s relatively comforting to see that manufacturers are still keeping their eye on the big prize: innovation.

It’s no exaggeration that the process of fostering innovation can be difficult even in the best of economic conditions. In times of economic belt-tightening, ramping up innovation is even riskier and seems profoundly inconceivable to many businesses.

“A recession can actually provide an opportunity to break away from the pack,” IMT recently quoted AdAge as having said. “Companies are forced to innovate just to stay current. During a recession, the little players tend to shake out, and many established companies go into innovation dormancy. It’s precisely this moment when a touch of strategic innovation can mean a big marketplace advantage.”

To that end, a few recent news items indicate that manufacturers are banding together to keep innovation efforts alive in both the near and long term.

Ford Motor Company and Dow Chemical, for instance, are planning a national convention for next year that aims to “fuel a broad plan to overcome industrial and economic upheavals affecting the entire country” by covering such critical topics as the future of manufacturing, technology, energy and the environment. Organizers compare the event to the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, but it would be first of its kind on this scale in the United States. Ford Motor Co.’s executive chairman, Bill Ford, considers the event “crucial and long overdue.”

“There’s no place where all the interested parties can get together and really thrash it out,” Ford said. “In this country, we’ve not had that dialogue with everyone at the table. We don’t have a (national) plan, and sometimes it seems like we don’t have a clue. It’s time for government and business to work together for a stronger, more secure, prosperous nation.”

While the speaker lineup hasn’t been announced, companies planning to take part include Chrysler LLC, IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp., AT&T Inc., Motorola Inc., Deloitte LLP, Borg Warner and Masco Corp., according to the Associated Press this week.

Here’s more:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Council on Competitiveness have agreed to participate in the national summit, which includes concurrent town halls on each of the main topics, a “CEO Summit” for corporate leaders and an innovation exposition that incorporates technology displays and an effort to match entrepreneurs, researchers and venture capitalists.

On a less grand scale, but still just as pertinent to the topic of collaboration and innovation, global industrial firms Huntsman Textile Effects and Genencor are coming together to jointly develop sustainable textile processing solutions. Huntsman Textile Effects is a global supplier of dyes, chemicals and solutions for textile processing, and Genencor focuses on discovering, developing and delivering highly innovative, eco-friendly, efficient enzyme technologies.

According to the press announcement, first results from this joint effort can be expected shortly, as Huntsman and Genencor are scheduled to announce the launch of a new, innovative product later this year.

Meanwhile, biotech company Genzyme Corporation is also keeping an eye on innovation, collaboration and sustainability. The company recently announced the grand opening of a new Science Center that is among the first to earn a Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The Massachusetts facility serves as a central site for early-stage research, where scientists are utilizing advanced technologies available to discover novel new treatments for devastating diseases such as Parkinson’s, cancer and heart disease, according to the press announcement.

“Genzyme exists to innovate, and the Science Center reflects this purpose,” Henri A. Termeer, Genzyme’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “The work done at this facility will ensure that we can continue to bring forward therapies to significantly improve patients’ lives and will help support the company’s long-term growth.”

The Science Center is one component of an ongoing global expansion of the company’s research and development (R&D) and manufacturing infrastructure, and the company said it is completing manufacturing capacity expansions at select facilities in the United Kingdom and Ireland. All of the company’s expansions and new facilities worldwide are being built to meet high environmental standards.

Obviously, some manufacturing sectors are more cash-strapped than others, but with the aforementioned developments, it certainly seems like manufacturers are looking to make innovation a primary force driving their growth and performance. Is an innovation renaissance in the U.S. within reach?

Earlier: Innovate Through the Downturn

Resources

Innovate in a Recession? Yes (Subscription required)
by Hal Fass
Advertising Age, Feb. 28, 2008

Ford Motor Co. and Dow Chemical Executives Announce Plans for National Business Summit in 2009
by Jeff Karoub
The Associated Press, Sept. 22, 2008

Huntsman Textile Effects and Genencor Collaborate to Bring Innovation in Sustainability to the Textile Industry
Genencor, Sept. 23, 2008

Genzyme Marks Grand Opening of New Science Center, Among the First Research Laboratories…
Genzyme, Sept. 22, 2008