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Mindsailors has been granted the status of a Research and Development Center. What does it mean for us and our clients? We sat down with our CEO, Patryk Strzelewicz, for a lightning round of questions to see why this status is a game-changer for some of our clients.

WHY IS BECOMING A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER SO IMPORTANT TO MINDSAILORS?

Since the inception of Mindsailors (2005), all our activities have been focused on materializing our clients' ideas, both small and large.

Over the years, we have created an original six-stage design process that guarantees to turn the customer's idea and vision into a refined and ready-to-manufacture product.
We started the process of applying for the Research and Development Center status in 2019, when our services expanded to include DFM (design for manufacturing), production supervision (supervising and quality checking chosen manufacturers in the first batches of production), and electronics design.
In recent years, as we helped develop more and more projects that were market-ready, we have come to the conclusion that the best continuation of our company's evolution would be to participate in even larger projects that start with fundamental research and gradually iterate towards commercialization.

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We have already entered into an R&D project with the Bialystok University of Technology (CBR). It's for the health protection and safety industry, and it has great potential to change production methods of one of the crucial accessories used on construction sites into more ecological ones while increasing the safety of construction workers.
Thanks to the official status of a Research and Development Center, we will be able to carry out even more such projects in consortia with Polish entrepreneurs.

 

IS OBTAINING THE STATUS PERSONALLY RELEVANT TO YOU?

Our team consists of engineers with an artistic soul and artists who can be engineers. The Research and Development Center status is a nice distinction for us and a confirmation that the work we do has value not only from the point of view of our clients, but also from the perspective of macroeconomics and economy of the country.

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This status is granted by Poland's Ministry of Technology and Development. Amongst companies with the Research and Development Center status you can find such great companies as EC-Engineering, which comprehensively designs rail vehicles, AstraZeneca, a leader in the bio-pharmaceutical industry, KGHM Cuprum or CD-Projekt, which is arguably the most commonly known of Polish global companies.
Each of them focuses on physical products and specific, valuable services. Being in this group confirms that we have chosen the right direction for our company's development.

 

WAS IT DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN THE STATUS OF A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER?

First, Mindsailors was audited by the Tax Office, which indicated if we were eligible for the research and development status.

We had to meet certain conditions: up-to-date taxes, full accounting settlements, a minimum of 70% of research and development projects, and a minimum turnover of PLN 2.5 milion per year.

The process was long, 2 years in total, and quite complicated for someone who, for example, on a daily basis mainly uses engineering tools. Although what came most easily to us was to describe the projects being implemented and justify that they were the result of a professional design process, technologically correct and focused on implementation.

From the moment we made the decision to apply in this case, we exchanged 315 e-mails in 15 threads - maybe this will be a quantifiable measure of whether it was a difficult process!
Nevertheless, according to the list on the official website of the Ministry of Technology and Development, we are the first industrial design office in Poland to earn the Research and Development Center status

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WHAT DOES THIS CHANGE FOR MINDSAILORS?

In addition to the obligation to document the working time and divide the days of individual designers into specific projects, which to some extent we did anyway, not much changed.
We will continue to run projects as efficiently as possible. What is changing is our perspective on the multitude and size of projects in which we can participate. We hope that from now on, there will be more interesting and large projects on the horizon from entrepreneurs that require an R&D process.

As a team of engineers, we will be able to share our skills in the field of Industrial Design, i.e., Conceptual Design, Mechanical Design, Design for Manufacturing, Production Supervision, and Embedded Electronics: Technical Research, PCB Design, Firmware Development, Design for Launch, EMC/RED/LVD Precertification, Customer Product Review, and technical consultation.

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Over the years, we have confirmed that new and more demanding projects contribute most to the development of the Mindsailors team.

 

ARE THERE ANY CUSTOMER BENEFITS FOR MINDSAILORS ACHIEVING THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER STATUS?

Customers who come to us appreciate the advantages of our research and development work. It’s the R&D process that delivers new, unique, and innovative products for our customers and pushes their companies forward. From now on, each new visual concept, mechanical model, visual prototype, or functional prototype, realized in cooperation with Mindsailors Research and Development Center may be tax-deducted twice as part of the R&D relief. 

For us, this means a bolder approach to budget issues and thus a direct translation into establishing more and more competent project teams.

Such an R&D relief can be called upon by entrepreneurs located in Poland, who finance projects from private funds as well as those subsidized by EU funds.

 

To start, just contact us!

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