Kaisersesch, November 2025 – In a traditional company like CLASSEN, which can look back on decades of experience in the field of flooring production, one would not necessarily expect to see a hackathon. But that is exactly what happened on November 5 and 6, 2025: an interdisciplinary innovation workshop brought a breath of fresh air to a rather conservative industry – with lasting effects.
A new workshop format for a new way of thinking
“I gained hackathon experience from my first job at a tech startup—and have always found this format incredibly valuable for developing unconventional ideas in a short period of time,” explains Céline Quervel, Managing Director of the CLASSEN Group. Together with her team, she has now launched what is probably the first hackathon in the flooring industry.
The goal was to develop a working prototype in 48 hours—based on a real-life challenge from CLASSEN's everyday work: the further development of digital printing technology using artificial intelligence. This ambitious goal was made possible thanks to close collaboration with an experienced AI expert, who showed them how to “let AI work for you.” This enabled them to create functional prototypes within a very short time, which would normally take weeks or even months.
Unusual teams, extraordinary results
The participants: a mix of product management, design center, marketing, prepress, production, and digital printing, expanded to include external AI experts and UX/UI specialists. People who rarely encounter each other in everyday life were now working hand in hand.
In three mixed teams, they developed ideas, designed user interfaces, wrote code, and tested new tools—all with the aim of actively shaping the future of digital printing at CLASSEN.
New perspectives on familiar technologies
Contrary to expectations, the teams did not focus on the unlimited design variety that digital printing promises customers. Instead, it became clear in the pitches that the participants primarily wanted to simplify internal processes and make them more efficient—with the help of AI-supported assistants, dashboards, or automation. This was a surprising result that highlights the importance of intelligent process support.
In our day-to-day work in digital printing, we often think in terms of production processes. But these two days were about seeing the big picture. The exchange with other departments opened up completely new perspectives for us—both technically and conceptually. I would not have thought that something so concrete and well thought-out could be created in just two days.
– Timo Linnenbrügger, Head of Digital Printing and Laminating
Pitches in front of a high-caliber audience
On the second day, the teams presented their results in a final pitch—in front of a jury consisting of strategically important customers, members of the owner family, and the top management of the CLASSEN Group.
Although there was an official winner in the end, the public vote was extremely close. All three concepts received a similar number of votes. Even during the event, there was agreement across all teams: This was just the beginning.
“All teams have decided to further develop their ideas. We are now pooling the expertise from these interdisciplinary groups in a targeted manner in order to jointly bring the prototypes to market maturity. This will result in a new innovation project—with real solutions for real challenges,” summarizes Céline Quervel.
Innovation begins with courage
The hackathon was not just a format—it was a cultural signal. It showed that innovation in industry can also arise outside of traditional development cycles: through openness, by breaking down silos—and through the courage to simply try something new.
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