RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT a never-ending added value

The world is ever-changing and the changes come fast and furious. Consumers have different needs and those needs also change over time. The challenge all manufacturers are faced with is to find ways to develop productsand services that stand out and better respond to the needs and expectation of clients.

SCG Chemicals’ strategies have been established to keep strivingto provide High Value Added Productsand Services or HVA for customers. These HVA products and services have helped our customers to further develop their business as well as helped create better quality of life for consumers and manufacturers in the industrial sector.

A CRITICAL FACTOR is “Research & Development”

In order to achieve high value-added products and services, a critical factor is “Research & Development”. SCG Chemicals’ R&D team has worked to develop new innovations that will serve the needs of our customers and consumers. We do this by combining knowledge from within the organization with collaboration with a network of world-class institutions.

Currently SCG Chemicals has over 433 researchers and staff working in our R&D Department, among them over66 Ph.D. holders. The Advanced Science sand Technology Center or ASTEC has been set up as an R&D and new product testing center. Apart from ASTEC, there are other R&D centers such as the R&D Center at Chulalongkorn University.

COLLABORATION WITH WORLD-CLASS INSTITUTIONS

SCG Chemicals also conducts R&D collaboration with world class institutions such as Oxford University, England, with with which it set up the “SCG - University of Oxford Centre of Excellence” in 2011. Later on in 2014, SCG Chemicals purchased stocks in Norner Holding AS of Norway—an industry leader in plastic and polymer development technology and innovation and allocated over 340 million baht to the collaborative study of manufacturing techniques and plastic and polymer innovations.

NEVER-ENDING COMMITMENT FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

SCG Chemicals’ R&D covers all the needs of customers as well as various industries. Over 93 patents have been filed in both Thailand and overseas. In 2015, 2.1 billion baht has been allocated for Research and Development. Ongoing HVA product developments at SCG Chemicals include:

• Nano material used in various HVA applications which yield higher efficiency while requiring fewer plastic pellets.
• A special plastic film which istransparent and seals well, suitable forthe development of lightweight yet durable product packaging. This new plastic film increases product life as well as preserves the quality of the contents inside.
• emisspro® – an industrial furnacerefractory coating which has helpedcut down on energy used in the manufacturing process by 2-6% for industries requiring the use of high hea furnace such as petrochemical, ceramic and steel industries.

Other SCG Chemicals innovations also include turning sludge into vermicompost - a waste management innovation that adds value to organic waste. There is also the development of robots for the inspection of machinery in risky and confined plant conditions to ensure safety of workers.