- New laboratory building
- Space for research and development is doubled
- Headquarters for simulation of future packaging trends
Grevenbroich, August 18, 2016 – ACTEGA Rhenania GmbH, a globally leading coatings and adhesives specialist, is erecting a new laboratory building in Grevenbroich. The company, which belongs to the specialty chemicals Group ALTANA, is investing around €10 million in the new building.
The foundation stone is being laid on August 18.
Encompassing a space of 5,700 square meters, the new laboratory building of ACTEGA Rhenania will be twice as large as the site’s two current labs combined. Research and development, quality control and service will be united here under one roof. “So far, these laboratories have been housed in separate buildings,” says Dr. Thomas Sawitowski, the managing director of ACTEGA Rhenania. “By bringing together these departments in one building we are optimizing our processes and thus can support our customers even more efficiently with new developments.”
The laying of the foundation stone in Grevenbroich (f.l.t.r.):
Bertram Graf von Nesselrode, 2. deputy mayor of the city of Grevenbroich,
Martin Honak, partner at Vollack, Bernhard Baer, project manager ACTEGA
Rhenania, and Dr. Thomas Sawitowski, managing director of ACTEGA Rhenania.
This results in products that almost everyone comes into contact with. Among ACTEGA’s most well-known products are inner coatings for yogurt lids. The aluminum foil used for this purpose is coated with a food-friendly coating that keeps the contents fresh and protects the lid from corrosion.
The laboratory building was planned by architects and engineers of Vollack GmbH & Co. KG, which specializes in the conceptual design, planning, and completion of office and industrial buildings. One requirement the planners have to meet is to integrate a customer technology center into the new building. It will contain various production facilities in miniature format, enabling ACTEGA to understand the production processes and specific requirements of customers better than purely under laboratory conditions.
So far, the different facilities have been spread around the site. With the planned customer technology center, the company will be able to test new trends for packaging, such as coffee capsules and aluminum trays, at a central location. “One of our most important competitive advantages is that we develop innovative packaging solutions in close cooperation with our customers,” says Dr. Sawitowski. “With the new representative customer technology center we will now meet this demand spatially as well.” Not only ACTEGA Rhenania but also other companies in the ACTEGA division will make use of it in the future.
The move into the new building is slated for mid-2017. Subsequently the old laboratory buildings will be dismantled.
About ACTEGA:
ACTEGA develops and produces coatings and sealants, printing inks and adhesives for flexible and rigid packaging and for the graphic arts industry. These products do not only lend an attractive appearance to materials such as paper, paper board, plastic and metal, but also provide clearly defined technical properties, e.g. chemical and physical resistance to the materials' surface.
The main customers for the products ACTEGA develops, manufactures and markets are in the packaging industry. ACTEGA is one of the market leaders in overprint varnishes and is the technological leader in the rapidly expanding sector of water-based sealants for flexible packaging. ACTEGA products do not only ensure that the packaging will look appealing, but also help that the contents will remain fresh for a longer time.
ACTEGA is already one of the world’s leading vendors of sealants for closures and glass containers; ACTEGA is also the technological leader when it comes to water-based sealants for cans. These products are used to make seals between the contact surfaces, such as glass on metal (bottle closures) or metal on metal (can lids). They ensure that the contents and other substances such as CO2 remain inside the packaging while “locking out” all contaminants.
About ALTANA:
ALTANA is a global leader in true specialty chemicals. The Group offers innovative, environmentally compatible solutions for coating manufacturers, paint and plastics processors, the printing and packaging industries, the cosmetics sector and the electrical and electronics industry. The product range includes additives, special coatings and adhesives, effect pigments, sealants and compounds, impregnating resins and varnishes, and testing and measuring instruments. ALTANA's four divisions, BYK Additives & Instruments, ECKART Effect Pigments, ELANTAS Electrical Insulation, and ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants, all occupy a leading position in their target markets with respect to quality, product solution expertise, innovation and service.
Headquartered in Wesel, Germany, the ALTANA Group has 47 production facilities and more than 50 service and research laboratories worldwide. Throughout the Group about 6,000 people work to ensure the worldwide success of ALTANA. In 2015, ALTANA achieved sales of more than 2 billion euros. About 6 percent of sales are invested in research and development every year. Its high earning power and high growth rate make ALTANA one of the most innovative, fastest growing, and profitable chemical companies in the world.