Enaex: leading innovation in the mining of the future

In 2013, Enaex, a leader in comprehensive rock fragmentation services in Latin America, faced a highly competitive landscape in an industry dominated by global heavyweight players. Thus, the company set itself the challenge of turning to innovation to differentiate itself and achieve tangible, high-impact results systematically. This would support the company in its future internationalization efforts. Enaex’s mission was clear yet complex: to increase mining productivity with new blasting solutions.

INNSPIRAL was enlisted to introduce innovation with method and measurable outcomes. A strategy was co-designed, and projects with acceleration potential were identified. The collaboration focused on implementing and operating the INNSPIRAL Innovation Management System (IMS), enabling continuous exploration and implementation of innovation opportunities. Progress was measured at each project step using the Innovation Intensity Index (i3), ensuring advancements were tracked.

After 5 years of the process initiation, the company had increased its Innovation Intensity from 2.4% to 24%, far exceeding the company’s expectations, mainly due to the introduction of higher-value-added solutions. According to its General Manager, Juan Andrés Errázuriz, “we managed to achieve equal or better margins, and our clients have had lower total costs thanks to innovation”. Enaex’s collaboration with INNSPIRAL was the starting point to replicate its innovation model in the company’s subsidiaries worldwide and to embark on projects with greater technological challenges, such as the one managed by INNSPIRAL by connecting Enaex with the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) to explore robotic solutions for the future of mining.