“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 amount of time,” explains Céline Quervel, CEO of the CLASSEN Group. Together with her team, she has now launched what is likely the flooring industry’s first hackathon.

The goal was to develop a working prototype in 48 hours—based on a real-world challenge from CLASSEN’s day-to-day operations: the further development of digital printing technology using artificial intelligence. This ambitious goal was made possible in part thanks to close collaboration with an experienced AI expert who advised them: “Let AI work for you.” As a result, functional prototypes were created in a very short time—prototypes that would normally take weeks or even months to develop.

The participants: a mix of people from product management, the design center, marketing, prepress, production, and digital printing, along with external AI experts and UX/UI specialists. People who rarely cross paths in their day-to-day work were now working hand in hand.

Divided into three mixed-gender teams, they developed ideas, designed user interfaces, wrote code, and tested new tools—all with the goal of actively shaping the future of digital printing at CLASSEN.

Contrary to expectations, the teams did not focus on the limitless design possibilities that digital printing promises customers. Instead, it became clear during the pitches that the participants primarily wanted to simplify internal processes and make them more efficient—with the help of AI-powered assistants, dashboards, or automation. This surprising result underscores the importance of intelligent process support.

“In our day-to-day work in digital printing, we often think in terms of production workflows. But these two days were all about seeing the big picture. The exchange with other departments opened up entirely new perspectives for us—both technically and conceptually. I never would have thought that something so concrete and well-thought-out could emerge in just two days.
–Timo Linnenbrügger, Head of Digital Printing and Laminating” 

On the second day, the teams presented their results in a final pitch—before a jury consisting of strategically important clients, as well as members of the owner family and the CLASSEN Group’s top management.

Although there was an official winner in the end, the audience vote was extremely close. All three concepts received a similar number of votes. Even during the event, there was a consensus across all teams:This was just the beginning.

“All the teams have decided to further develop their ideas. We are now systematically pooling the expertise from these interdisciplinary groups to jointly bring the prototypes to market readiness. This will give rise to a new innovation project—with real solutions for real challenges,” summarizes Céline Quervel.

The hackathon wasn't just a format—it was a cultural statement. It demonstrated that innovation in industry can also emerge outside of traditional development cycles: through openness, by breaking down silos—and through the courage to simply give new ideas a try.