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R&D-meeting

SIBUR and TECHNONICOL took part in a brainstorming session during a joint R&D-meeting to find brand new product solutions for the construction industry ranging from additive technologies to nano-coatings.


SIBUR conducts over 100 research projects each year with the key aims of improving the process flows, expanding the grade offering and developing new products and technologies.

In search for new project ideas, the challenges faced by various industry sectors are analysed and end-consumer expectations are studied. Russian universities and research institutes are another source of promising scientific ideas.

“The modern market is extremely customised. 50 years ago, the market offered several different grades of polyethylene, and today a new grade can be tailor-made for any solution to fully meet customer requirements. Now, it is not just a material that we need to sell but a solution that will fully satisfy customer needs,” says Andrey Grachev, Head of SIBUR’s Corporate R&D.

SIBUR and TECHNONICOL are long-standing partners. The agreement on their long-term cooperation was executed back in 2013 when Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials attended the signing ceremony.

Back in September, SIBUR's partners fr om TECHNONICOL expressed desire to hold a dedicated strategic meeting to generate ideas for high-potential products.

Eugene Voylov, Vice President of TECHNONICOL, explains: “Today, polymers are used in literally all spheres of construction. There are multiple composite materials made of metal or wood bonded with polymers, which improves their properties. And we see that developing new grades can create truly breakthrough solutions”.

SIBUR's corporate R&D function arranged for this R&D-meeting to become a full-fledged brainstorming session aimed at expanding the Company's product portfolio. The discussion welcomed a wide range of specialists, including process engineers, marketing team, sales managers, researchers and heads of business units.

“We did not lim it ourselves to petrochemical solutions already available to the construction industry, but were rather looking into the most advanced and promising technologies that have not yet been implemented in Russia,” says Maria Cherkashina, Chief Expert of New Projects Department at SIBUR’s R&D Centre NIOST. “At the same time, we are aware of their importance for sustainable business and the product strategy of SIBUR, which is always striving to offer the most innovative solutions.”

SIBUR and TECHNONICOL at the R&D meeting.

The brainstorming generated 18 ideas that are totally new. Following the second vote, four of them were accepted for further development:

• import substitution production of eco-friendly binders for heat-insulating panels;

• multifunctional nanomaterial for coatings;

• recycled polymer technology;

• additive technologies for construction.

The brainstorming has marked the beginning of joint work on new projects. Now SIBUR' team will work to strengthen the commercial potential of these ideas, with the expert support of TECHNONICOL.

SIBUR's experts highly appreciated the brainstorming as a tool for finding, analysing and selecting the most effective solutions. In the near future, similar meetings could also be held with the metallurgical, automotive, and FMCG industries.


niost r&d technonicol

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