Case Study: Elkem achieves global innovation and hundreds of implemented employee ideas with Wazoku

How a leading advanced materials manufacturer utilized an innovation program powered by Wazoku to collect, prioritize, and action ideas within their organization

Elkem, a century‑old leader in silicon‑based advanced materials, needed a way to capture, prioritize and implement ideas from its global workforce while breaking down divisional silos and clarifying resourcing and impact. The company formalized an Innovation Team to run targeted challenges and sought a platform to give every employee a voice and make idea evaluation transparent and strategic.

Using Wazoku’s idea platform, Elkem has run 70+ challenges, captured ~2,600 ideas and centrally categorized submissions to speed evaluation and allocation. In one marketing challenge 1,400 ideas produced 400 solved ideas (29%), with about 20% of those spawning projects; a Circular Economy contest turned ~100 ideas into 15 active implementations—delivering faster decision‑making, higher engagement and clearer pathways from suggestion to impact.

Elkem

Louis Vovelle

SVP Innovation and R&D