Evonik opens Tego Innovation Center in Shanghai and Singapore

Evonik will open its first research and development center for additives for paints and coatings in Asia this November. A single-digit million US dollar amount have been invested to set up the “Tego Innovation Center” in two locations, Shanghai and Singapore, as part of the global Evonik innovation network.

The “Tego Innovation Center” will cater to manufacturers in the paints and coatings industry in Asia. Collaborations with regional customers and research institutions aim at providing individual solutions to strengthen the competitiveness and innovative capabilities of Evonik’s Asian customers. Research is geared to meet regional demands and centers on developing cutting-edge, environmentally-friendly coating systems to accommodate the megatrend of resource efficiency.

“Evonik are expecting the Asian market to generate the largest market growth for the paints and coatings industry in the coming years,” says Dr. Thomas Haeberle, the Evonik Executive Board member responsible for Segment Resource Efficiency, which oversees the Coatings & Additives Business Unit. “We are anticipating the greatest demand in the segment for environmentally-friendly coatings. Our new “Tego Innovation Center” addresses exactly these growth markets. Our know-how and our international research network put us in an excellent position to service our customers’ competitive needs.”

The “Tego Innovation Center” in Shanghai and Singapore is designed to foster even closer collaboration with Asian manufacturers. That is why Evonik will be employing researchers and specialists from the region—a total of 20 to 25 staff members to begin with. The local specialists based in Shanghai will service the Chinese market. Singapore, Indian, Southeast Asian and Northern Asian nationals will look after customers in their home
markets, and besides intensifying the cooperation with business partners, the “Tego Innovation Center” will expand research collaboration with top local universities. This consistent exchange will allow us to service local and greater Asian demand as effectively as possible.

Together, three laboratory groups installed in Shanghai and Singapore will cover all research and development activities relating to additives for paints and coatings: The synthesis laboratory will develop chemical structures for potential new products, the laboratory for formulation development will perform screening and preliminary product design, and the laboratory for strategic market development will be responsible for developing and marketing end products.