• Accurate Dosing Systems received support from Entrepreneurs’ Programme Accelerating Commercialisation service with grants of $430,000 and $570,000 and is now taking on the lucrative global fragrance and flavour markets. Its unique robots are able to mix up to 200 ingredients in just 40 seconds, a significant improvement over current techniques which can take many hours.
• i4 Connect Facilitator, Dr Kerstin Holata provided Accurate Dosing Systems with vital knowledge and business experience to help it navigate pathways to funding, training, operations, process improvement and ultimately develop a prototype in a commercially viable timeframe.
The complex process of mixing test fragrances to discover a new scent to launch onto the US$24
billion global fragrance market has traditionally been time consuming and expensive.
Using advanced robotics, Australian technology start-up Accurate Dosing Systems has refined what is
typically an hours-long process that can be highly wasteful and prone to human error and breakages,
into an accurate and efficient operation that can mix up to 200 ingredients in just 40 seconds.
Following successful trials conducted by one of the world’s largest manufacturers, the global
fragrance and flavour creation industries have shown significant interest in the potential for robots
created by Accurate Dosing Systems to create a quantum leap forward in production.
When it comes to fragrance production in particular, the company’s Closing Robots offer greater
accuracy and significant time and cost savings over either manual mixing or the semi-automated
gravity dosing systems used by many European fragrance makers over the past two decades. The
game-changing technology also requires less servicing than existing solutions, significantly reducing
ongoing operating costs.
The Adelaide-based company’s bid to revolutionise the fragrance production industry has been
boosted by two successful applications to the Entrepreneurs’ Programme Accelerating
Commercialisation service, which delivered crucial funding as well as expert advice and mentorships
that has been integral to the delivery of their business plans.
The scent of an idea
Industrial engineer Masoud Bahmai, the Managing Director of Accurate Dosing Systems, explains
that current technologies for fragrance mixing were failing to deliver the high-quality results
demanded by clients.
“Existing semi-automation is poor quality, very expensive, prone to breakages, and complicated for
staff to use, so the onboarding time is slow and expensive,” Bahmai said.
He and his team of mechanic, electrical and computer science engineers started developing
proprietary technology for a volumetric system – a solution based on volume injected from syringes,
rather than by weighing individual ingredients. Robots created by Accurate Dosing Systems are
stationary during the mixing process, but are plumbed to ingredient liquid materials.
With recipes for fragrances and perfumes being fiercely protected, blending always takes place in-
house. Secure processes are an integral feature of Accurate Dosing Systems’ methodology, including
software and barcoding of ingredients to ensure the recipe remains a secret even from the
machinery operator. “We send the robot or machine to the client and we program an API to plug
machine software to the client’s ERP system,” Bahmai said.
“We don’t know the recipe’s details, nor do the operations staff. This solution provides heightened
IP security as a default.”
A timely funding boost
Working at the cutting edge of robotics and technology is enormously expensive, with even the
smallest of Accurate Dosing Systems’ Closing Robots costing $500,000. It was this factor that
prompted the company to apply for the Entrepreneurs’ Programme Accelerating Commercialisation
Grant. Funding of $430,000 was received in April 2018, just as the company was trying to build its
first prototype testing in Dubai for a global manufacturer.
Bahmai said that without the initial Entrepreneurs’ Programme Accelerating Commercialisation
grant, this prototype could never have been achieved in a commercially viable timeframe. The field
test took about nine months and was able to be directly compared to the client’s existing systems.
As a result, the client requested a scaled-up version of the robot, in order to convert to Accurate
Dosing Systems’ methodology. The new machine, made possible by a second-stage Entrepreneurs’
Programme Accelerating Commercialisation grant of $570,000, will be able to complete both sample
and production batches.
Turbo-charging business growth
With many potential clients unwilling to invest in high-value machinery for by a start-up company,
the funding and expert advice provided by the Entrepreneurs’ Programme Accelerating
Commercialisation service was vital in helping Accurate Dosing Systems build large scale machines
and software, hire crucial new talent, attend trade shows and more.
Bahmai said the greatest benefit came from the knowledge and business experience imparted by the
grant’s facilitators. “They were excellent,” he said. “They didn’t need to know our industry. They
knew about available funding, how companies should be run, identifying weaknesses and resolving them, and advising us on available training and business-related software to optimise our own
processes.
“Also, when customers saw the Australian Government funding behind us, it immediately made us
appear more credible, stable and attractive to clients.
“Even when we were looking for premises to hire, the presence of an Entrepreneurs’ Programme
Accelerating Commercialisation grant made landlords very happy to deal with us. They have a
powerful network that has opened many doors for us.”
The company’s relocation to a warehouse office space in Adelaide’s new engineering-focused
Tonsley Innovation Hub will accommodate the company’s plan to expand from seven to 20
engineers within the next years, as well as implementing a state-of-the-art production facility. Five
robots are already on order, and multiple inquiries have been received for significantly larger robots.
It’s also a more impressive space to show prospective clients.
With the help of the Entrepreneurs’ Programme Accelerating Commercialisation service, Accurate
Dosing Systems has been able to turbo-charge its commercialisation, setting up a bright future
where the world’s most iconic perfumes and scents can be brought into existence in a mere 40
seconds.
The lucrative global fragrance and flavour markets are watching the rise of an Australian startup whose unique robots can mix a new scent in just 40 seconds.
