Innovations are the lifeblood of technical companies. It provides an edge in competitiveness, market penetration, builds a reputation for being technically at the cutting edge, and finally brings financial rewards. Real success though depends not only on innovation but along with it also on communication and resources. ElectroChem Inc., a leading company in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies founded in 1986, lost its founder, and technical wizard in 1992. The responsibility for the future of the Company depended on the decision of the founder's wife, a non-technical spouse. ElectroChem's survival and its growth, has depended on its reinterpretation of the word innovation in a non-technical way. Along with its technical innovations, where it has developed a unique fuel cell design which can provide a power ratio from 1 to 3 for a short period without increasing the complexity of the system for water management. Early on, it has also been innovative in identifying the opportunities in e-marketing the need for a standard testing system, and opportunities for a closed loop energy system equipment. All of these have helped the Company to come over its challenges of leading by a non-technical person.
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