This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Henkel invierte 7 millones de euros en 3 nuevos centros de I+D en Cataluña

Firm expands r & d network and position the country as a strategic point for the development of new adhesive internationally

Henkel invests 7 million euros in 3 new centres of r & d in Catalonia

Esther Güell24/07/2013

Henkel Ibérica officially opened July 22 new centres of r & d at Henkel and the spin off Afinitica in the Parc de Recerca de la UAB (PRUAB) in Bellaterra, which means a new investment of the company in Catalonia. The event was attended by the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Artur Mas, who visited the facilities together with the President of the company for Spain and Portugal, Luis Carlos Lacorte, accompanied by researchers and press specialized.

Henkel Has invested 7 million euros for the set up of his three new centres of R&D. Two of them are situated in the PRUAB —a laboratory and the spin-off Afinitica— and a third in the technological centre of Leitat in Terrassa, that has supposed the creation of 55 new places of work, all researchers, and that will devote mainly to the investigation of new concepts and materials for the creation of adhesive products with a high value added, able to adapt to the future needs of the customers and of the society. Likewise, the company will invest every year 7 millions more for the operation of all his centres in the Peninsula.

With the creation of the new centres Henkel expands his network of investigation and shows his bet by Spain like one of the main generators of innovation and investigation for all the Group.

Luis Carlos Lacorte, president of Henkel Iberian, aimed that “Henkel bet for increasing his presence in Catalonia by his excellent infrastructures, the ease to attract talent and the researchers of high level that find here and want to follow betting by this territory”.

Besides Lacorte commented that the products to develop will allocate to a wide fan of sectors like the electronics equipment dealers equipment dealers, the automotive sector, the industry in general, the market of bricolaje and the packaging flexible. The centres will be in permanent contact with the head office of Henkel in Dusseldorf (Germany) as well as with the area of production that the company has in Montornès of the Vallès (Barcelona)”.

Luis Carlos Lacorte, President of Henkel Iberica, during the presentation of the main data of the company before a packed auditorium at the facilities of the PRUAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona.

This opening culminates a model started in 2010 by the company to promote collaborative research in r & d between Henkel and other technology centers. After the success of their centres located in the Tarragona ICIQ and the PRUAB - so it was recognized with the Premi Nacional de Recerca 2012 de la Generalitat de Catalunya - the company decided to expand its network of r & d in Catalonia by opening these three new centers as well as promote more collaborations with various research centres: Institute of material sciences, Institute for nanotechnology, National Center of microelectronics, Sincotron Alba and MATGAS.

The r & d in the DNA of the company

Henkel is one of the first international companies in the market of adhesives and its commitment to innovation is part of the key to its success, present and future. The company invests 3% of its sales, about 450 million euros a year, and dedicated 3,000 people r & d globally. With these openings, Henkel position Spain as a strategic point for the development of new adhesives globally.

During the visit, the president most wanted to thank "Henkel bet by a country that remains attractive for investment and whose people remains one of the main values, as evidenced by this decision. "People who work seriously, good professionals and with a positive attitude".

The president of the Government of Catalonia Artur But, to the izqda, with Luis Carlos Lacorte president of Henkel for Spain and Portugal, during the visit to the laboratories.

Henkel Adhesives

Henkel operates worldwide in the markets of detergents, cosmetics and adhesives. The adhesives business represents almost 50% of sales worldwide, more than 8,000 million euros and supplies products and technologies for 5 strategic sectors: Electronics, packaging and consumer goods, adhesives, consumption and construction, transportation and metal and general industry. Adhesive Techonogies area boasts a global network of r & d centres in which it researches and develops future adhesives. It has more than 1,600 employees in 11 work units, located in countries like United States, Brazil, Dubai and Spain and create value from the territory of Spanish for four of the eight technology platforms in which Henkel works: Group of advanced technologies, polyurethanes, surface technology and adhesives based on water.

Luis Carlos Lacorte also explained that the aim of the company is "responding to the challenges of the future, related topics of mobility, telecommunications, sustainability... without forgetting of Henkel's commitment to product development that will reduce the ecological footprint until 2050". In this sense, Henkel Iberica Manager added that "any product hits the market if not part of this commitment".

Afinitica opens new fields of research

The spin-off Afinitica, which will operate under the direction of Ramón Bacardit - currently senior Vice President of the Department of adhesive technologies - "it will investigate adhesives now not part of the core business of Henkel, but that can be in the future," explained Luis Carlos Lacorte. Specifically its 11 assigned investigators will study new possibilities cianocrilate, rapid-setting adhesives. This spin-off will be responsible for the entire process of development of new products, from research to the packaging design and the formation of the sellers. Most prominent applications include DIY and industry, but they do not rule out open new markets looking for applications which until now had not arisen. It is the case of adhesives for high precision.

Intended as a small company, in Afinitica they can work closely with businesses, developing turnkey products for very specific applications.

Researchers at the new laboratory of Henkel will be devoted to the development of new products in the fields of advanced technologies and polyurethanes.

A laboratory for advanced technologies

The new laboratory which Henkel has set up in the Parc de Recerca de la UAB is the expansion of already having, on level 2 of the same building. The 10 researchers will focus on the development of new products in the fields of advanced technologies and polyurethanes. In the first case, they are long term developments while the platform of polyurethanes for solutions to current problems for fields as flexible container.

On the second floor, in the laboratory operating since 2010, 11 - physicists, chemists and engineers - researchers whose work focuses on the development of new polymeric materials, are "constant innovation" says one of the doctors of the laboratory. "Our work is not linked to the demands of clients but we investigate and, subsequently, we propose possible applications". Science in its purest form.