You are here:
Facts
Degussa and T-Systems
Two examples of projects that T-Systems realized for Degussa:
Digital bundled cellular network for mobile, tap-proof communications at their Industriepark Rheinfelden location.
"Company Connect", with defined Service Level Agreements (SLA), forms the basis for communications, e-commerce and e-business at almost “ Links 30 locations.
Projects: Degussa
Luminescent paint may one day replace the light bulb!
Dr. Alfred Oberholz, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Degussa GmbH, and head of research and development talks about innovations and trends in the chemicals industry.
“Chemistry” already sounds very special to many people. But what is “specialty chemistry”?
We develop and manufacture products that give our customers major leverage, without the products being easily replace able. Primarily these products are “ingredients” that we supply exclusively to industrial users, and not private customers. On the other hand, when Germany brushes its teeth, Degussa is quite literally on the tip of everyone‘s tongue. We supply the miniscule silicates that help when brushing. And when it comes to car tires, we not only supply the carbon particulates that are important for durability, but also the silicates that minimize rolling friction from the roads. As well as silane, the hydrosilicon that binds the carbon particulates and silicates with the rubber. All integral parts of environmentally-sound “green tires.”
Why don’t your customers manufacture these business-critical components for their own products themselves?
Because no one can do everything. Chemistry involves many tools and methods. While a few companies have mastered the one type of reaction step, other companies are better at another type. The division of labor within our industry also grew historically, and that has paid off, in that specialists are always better. We get involved at an early stage of their product development – often at defining the characteristics of future products. On the other hand, ideas for our customers also come from us. This gives rise to a closely-linked value-added chain that benefits all sides.
No growth without research. What do you do for that?
Successful innovations must be carefully thought out. For this reason, every member of our management team strongly advocates innovation in their respective areas of responsibility. In 2005, we spent about €300 million for research and development. It was no less in 2006.
How do you bring new concepts to the market, and how do you control innovations?
Not only do we pursue innovation in new products – our innovation process itself is innovative. So, for example, we founded “Science to Business Centers” – initially for nanotechnology, and then for bio tech – where our scientists can collaborate with their colleagues from universities and smaller firms. This allows us to achieve decisive progress with a short timeframe. These centers form the link between invention and market for those products that we do not yet offer. As part of a five-year program, we have invested in the promising future of nanotechnology and biotechnology, at €50 million each.
By contrast, we spend roughly 90 percent of expenditures on research and development for markets in which we already have an active presence. “Creavis” supports us in this endeavor. It is a research unit supported by the Group, and yet independently managed, like a business unit, with about 180 employees who already have a proven track record in sales of their own products.
What exciting things can we expect in the future there?
We are working, for example, on linking nanotechnology with electronics, or in other words: nanotronics. This synergy, in 20 years - or maybe even in 10 years – could lead to the development of self-illuminating paint that would completely replace incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent lights, moreover with an even higher quality of lighting. The lighting of today is still not good enough for reading. But in the near future, we will bring foil products to market that are printed with this nanotronic paint. These can be used as self-luminescent - not just reflective - safety strips for bicyclists, pedestrians, and the backpacks children bring to school.
With all this innovation – does anything ever go wrong?
Of course that happens now and then. Research does not occur with a guarantee of success, and it is a type of “venture business.” Naturally, countless numbers of our projects come to fruition over the medium to long term. But, for instance, we were unsuccessful with antibacterial surface coatings. A great invention, however, that showed its true technical shortcomings in the surface coating, just as we approached our industry customers with it. But that is just another facet of the vibrant culture of our whole business, and should not affect the development team’s sense of self-worth. “Kill the project, not the team,” as Americans would say. So we are thinking more and more from a market perspective, and studying what it needs, in advance and very closely. The times are long past when we first develop something beautiful, and only then try to find a market for it.
Does computer simulation make your work easier?
It is no longer possible to consider the development of chemical systems without high-performance IT. And without computers, we would not be able to interpret with absolute precision the vast number of experiments necessary in the search for a substance. But even before it goes to the lab, we attempt certain things on the computer first. For instance, when developing new compounds, the pharmaceutical industry computes key/lock concepts, which molecules use to dock with very specific cell receptors. This is not only critical for the pharmaceutical industry, it is also implemented by us as well, in the development of catalysts, for instance. But then, one has to try it out on a practical basis. Not everything always works “in silico,” by that I mean, in the Petri dish of silicon-based microprocessors.
What does the future hold for specialty chemistry?
We have been paying a lot of attention to the question of what comes after fossil fuels. Chemistry is still based on oil as a raw material. However, currently about five percent of our products - which are fully competitive - are produced with renewable raw materials. We will continue to broaden this segment. Whether that be by ten percent, twenty percent or even more is difficult to predict today. Biotechnology and renewable raw materials are issues that have shadowed our work for twenty years now, ever since we started producing amino acids for feed additives in fermenters, thanks to which production livestock can better utilize the feed. As for nanotechnology – which I view as another trend – we have been actively involved in it for fifty years. It’s just that back then, these tiny particles were not known as such. Nowadays, they play an important role in, say, transparent suntan lotions with high UV protection. Eventually, we will also have to ask ourselves which type of chemistry works in which continent. Has basic chemistry migrated to China, while we Europeans only do the more complex things? Still, we have been in successful production in Germany for 167 years – and will continue to do so in the future.
Read the full story in the printed edition.
