Press Room
November 26, 2003
German VersionIdeas with a future: third annual Cognis Innovation Awards
Innovation is the key to long-term success for any business, which is why Düsseldorf-based specialty chemicals company Cognis recognized the creativity and originality of its staff on November 25 at the 2003 Innovation Award ceremony. The Awards are given to project teams from within the company whose ideas make both Cognis and its customers more competitive.
The Innovation Awards were created to encourage creativity and promote innovation among Cognis staff. The criteria by which entries are judged are originality, creativity, technical excellence, customer orientation and market success. Comments Dr. Klaus Künstler, head of Research & Technology: “These five factors are essential to any successful innovation, and this year’s winning projects are all good examples of this. The successful teams all worked with specific customer requirements in mind, and used their technical expertise to develop innovative solutions to the problems they were faced with.“ The competition is open to staff from all areas of Cognis anywhere in the world: not just Research and Development, but Production, Administration, IT, and Sales and Marketing. The winning teams reflect the company’s diversity, including as they do members from many different functional areas and countries.
Phytosterol production process wins Gold
The Gold Award, worth 25,000 euros, was given to Steve Frandsen, Yannick Basso, Roland Cazals, Jean Rigal, Bernhard Gutsche and Jörg Schwarzer. Comprising members from France, Germany and the USA, this team developed a process that converts the by-products from methyl ester production into free sterols. Phytosterols have many different applications, and can bring significant benefits. For example, they are added to margarine as cholesterol-reducing agents.
Solvent-free rheology modifier for water-based paints wins Silver
The Silver Award and a check for 15,000 euros went to the team made up of Mike Wiggins, Ayaz Khan, Ken Breindel, Dave Brown, Shruti Singhal, Dipak Shah and Shailesh Shah. This cross-functional team, with members drawn from Research and Development, Marketing and Production, was recognized for its work on DSX® 3075, a rheology modifier for water-based paints that is as effective as it is environmentally friendly. DSX® 3075 is 30 percent more effective than existing rheology modifiers, enhancing paint flow and leveling so that both domestic and professional users can achieve better results in all kinds of conditions.
High-performance dry emollient wins Bronze
The Bronze Award and 10,000 euros are the reward of Bettina Jackwerth, Georg Fieg, Rolf Kawa and Thorsten Löhl for their work on Cetiol® CC. The result of collaboration between Research, Process and Application Technology and Marketing, this is an emollient which significantly improves the performance of skin and hair care products. It has already proved a success in the marketplace, thanks to its exceptional versatility and excellent sensorics.
Says Antonio Trius, Cognis CEO: “Once again in this, the third year of the Innovation Awards, we are proud of the response of our staff across different functional areas and countries. The 21 projects submitted were the work of 107 staff from all around the world. Their capacity for innovation is our company’s guarantee of a successful future.“
About Cognis:
Cognis is a worldwide supplier of innovative specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients with almost 9,000 employees in close to 50 countries. The company has dedicated its activities to a high level of sustainability and delivers natural source raw materials and ingredients for food, nutrition and healthcare markets, and the cosmetics, detergents and cleaners industries. Additionally, Cognis provides solutions for a number of other industries, such as coatings and inks, lubricants, textiles and plastics, as well as agriculture and mining.
Cognis is owned by private equity funds advised by Permira, GS Capital Partners, and Schroder Ventures Life Sciences. In 2002, Cognis recorded sales of 3.1 billion euros and an operating profit before depreciation, amortization and exceptional items (EBITDA recurring) of 393 million euros. The Cognis group generated sales of approximately 2.25 billion euros in the first nine months of 2003.
Note:
Pictures of the 2003 Cognis Innovation Award ceremony can be downloaded from the Cognis image database (www.cognis.com).
Contact: Siegfried Wallat, Knowledge Management
Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Phone: +49-211-7940-2443
E-mail: siegfried.wallat@cognis.com
Internet: www.cognis.com
Wulf Klüppelholz, Corporate Communications Manager
Cognis Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Phone: +49-211-7940-6679
E-mail: wulf.klueppelholz@cognis.com
Internet: www.cognis.com