Tag: chemie

Roche opens new centre for pharmaceutical research

A significant milestone has been reached at Roche’s headquarters in Basel. The inauguration of the new Pharma Research and Early Development Centre (pRED). The centre, which offers 1,800 state-of-the-art workstations for laboratory and office work, brings together experts from various fields of research. The aim is to increase the efficiency of research and development through close collaboration. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin also attended the opening ceremony, which emphasises the national importance of this project.

With the new pRED Centre, Roche is pursuing a clear vision of pooling expertise from areas such as chemistry, biology and data science in order to drive forward pioneering innovations. Thomas Schinecker, CEO of the Roche Group, emphasised the central role of the centre in the company’s global innovation network. “This centre will not only improve the efficiency of our research, but also help us to achieve the greatest possible benefit for patients worldwide.”

Investing billions in the future
The investment in the pRED Centre is part of Roche’s long-term commitment to the Basel site. Since 2009, the company has invested 4.6 billion Swiss francs in the expansion of the site. With the new four buildings – including two high-rise laboratory buildings, an office complex and a congress centre – Roche is sending another strong signal for the future.

And this is just the beginning: a further 1.2 billion Swiss francs are being invested in modernising and expanding the site, which will strengthen Basel’s role as a global centre for pharmaceutical research and development in the long term.

With the opening of the new pRED Centre, Roche is not only investing in its own innovative strength, but also in strengthening Basel as a business location. This billion-euro investment is a clear signal that the pharmaceutical company intends to further expand its leading role in global research and development – a significant step both for the industry and for the region.

September 2024
New mortar plant opens in Liaoning

Sika has commissioned a state-of-the-art mortar plant in Liaoning, China. The globally active speciality chemicals company for construction and industry announced in a press release that this is its 34th production site in China. Mortar, tile adhesives and waterproofing solutions are to be produced there and supplied to customers in three provinces in the north-east of the country and in east-central Mongolia. The aim is to shorten delivery times and optimise service.

According to the press release, the product range includes mortar products that contain up to 20 per cent recycled raw materials during production, such as waste dust and mineral residues. At the same time, the plant opening marks the start of an initiative for Sika to switch from natural to alternative sands. Sika aims to cover half of its sand requirements with alternative materials by 2028.

The new building houses production facilities, offices, laboratories and infrastructure for warehousing and logistics. “The expansion underlines our commitment to quality and excellence and is also aligned with global sustainability goals,” said Philippe Jost, Regional Head Asia and Pacific.

June 2024
GETEC takes over Rhine Valley Life Science Park from Novartis

The pharmaceutical group Novartis is handing over the further development of the Rhine Valley Life Science Park in Stein to the energy service provider and industrial park operator GETEC, based in Muttenz BL. According to a Novartis media release, the aim is to maximise the economic potential of the park and develop it professionally. Financial details of this transaction were not disclosed. The transfer of all assets is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Novartis will retain the site as its largest tenant and will continue to manufacture medicines and therapies there. The company operates a manufacturing plant in Stein for solid dosage forms and drugs for injection, cell and gene therapies, as well as a milling and mixing centre for chemical manufacturing.

“After a detailed analysis, Novartis has come to the conclusion that transferring the management of the Rhine Valley Life Science Park to a professional industrial park operator can better maximise and develop the economic potential of the site and facilitate the settlement of new companies,” Steffen Lang, President Operations and member of the Novartis Executive Board, is quoted as saying. In return, Novartis can better focus on its core business.

GETEC belongs to the GETEC Group, which is based in Magdeburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The group is also active in the Netherlands and Italy. In Switzerland, it also operates the 50-hectare industrial site in Muttenz.

The Canton of Aargau’s location promotion department welcomes the change of ownership in the Sisslerfeld area, a strategic development focus for the canton: “The Sisslerfeld has great potential for high value-added businesses and thus for significantly more jobs,” says the head of location promotion, Verena Rohrer. “The transfer to GETEC enables us to jointly attract further, innovative companies to the greater Sisslerfeld area that can cooperate with each other.”

August 2023
Sika strengthens its presence in Peru

Sika is acquiring Chema, a leading manufacturer of mortar products in Peru, primarily for tile installation, according to a media release. With this acquisition, the Baar-based specialty chemicals company is expanding its position in the South American country’s so-called building finishing sector, according to the release. The expansion of distribution channels will create “exciting opportunities for cross-selling complementary products such as sealants and adhesives, liquid membranes and waterproofing systems”, Sika said.

Chema’s four modern plants and seven warehouses ensured nationwide coverage of production and distribution. Chema achieved sales of the equivalent of CHF 50 million in 2022 with tile adhesives, grouts and other complementary products. The company supplies smaller specialist shops in addition to DIY shops and building material retailers.

“Through our joint business activities and improved market access, we have an excellent basis for further growth and a strong position in the Peruvian market,” Regional Head Americas, Christoph Ganz, is quoted as saying. “With the nationwide geographic presence, we strengthen our strategic focus on major cities and our offering of complete solutions for new and existing customers.”

August 2023
Kuratle Group and Raurica Wald build timber factory in Aargau

A sustainable production facility for wood processing is to be built on the former premises of the CPH Group in Full-Reuenthal, the Lucerne-based chemical and paper holding company informs in a statement. It has sold a plot of land on the site, which it used until 2002, to Full Property AG. The company is owned by the wood-processing Kuratle Group from Leibstadt AG and the Basel-based Raurica Wald AG, which specialises in investments in the forestry and timber industry.

The new plant will process local roundwood into construction timber using energy from renewable sources. Until now, such timber construction materials have been imported, the statement said. “We are pleased that innovative companies that contribute to climate protection with a sustainable business concept are operating on our former company site,” Peter Schildknecht, CEO of the CPH Group, is quoted there. Several companies, including two recycling firms, have already set up shop on the former CPH production site, which covers an area of around 30 football pitches.

February 2023
Sika sells industrial coatings business in Europe

According to a press release, Sika has made the strategic decision to sell its European industrial coatings business based in Vaihingen near Stuttgart, Germany. The buyer is the American Sherwin-Williams Company , the world’s leading supplier of industrial paints and coatings. In contrast, this business offers Sika “little potential for synergies” at group level. The division is therefore “a niche business within the Sika Group”.

The portfolio includes corrosion and fire protection coatings, which are mainly sold in Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Austria. This offers Sherwin-Williams, whose core competencies include industrial coatings, “an important strategic opportunity to promote growth and expand its market position in Europe”.

It was “very important” for Sika to “find a suitable strategic owner who will continue to invest in the further development of products and the further training of employees”, regional manager EMEA, Ivo Schädler, is quoted in the press release. “Within this organization, the Industrial Coatings division and its employees have the ideal prerequisites to develop their full potential.”

August 2021
Sika takes over the market leader for green roofs in the USA

Sika is developing into number one for green roofs in North America: The producer of construction chemical product systems and industrial sealants and adhesives takes over the Chicago-based American Hydrotech Inc. and its Canadian subsidiary Hydrotech Membrane Corporation , based in Ville d'Anjou in the province of Quebec.

According to a press release from Sika, the company is the “clear market leader” for green roofs as an “established and recognized manufacturer of liquid membranes”. Hydrotech also has a strong market position when it comes to waterproofing the roofs and foundations of shopping centers. In 2020, the company achieved sales of CHF 83 million.

“With the takeover, we will become the clear market leader in the rapidly growing application areas of green roofs and building waterproofing,” says Christoph Ganz, Sika's regional manager for the Americas. The fact that Hydrotech offers long-lasting products made with 40 percent recyclates “fits perfectly with Sika's sustainability strategy and strengthens our position in large cities, where green roofs are becoming increasingly important”.

July 2021
Siloxene offers "miracle material" for the chemical industry

After a successful research career at the Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt ( Empa ), Matthias Koebel founded his own start-up called Siloxene. With this he wants to market a multifunctional material component that he discovered and researched during his time at Empa.

In a press release , Empa describes the development as a “miracle material” for the chemical industry. Specifically, it is a silicon-based, molecular hybrid building material that is only about a nanometer in size. The material can be used to improve the properties of adhesives, coatings or fillers depending on the product and customer requirements. For example, coatings can be made more scratch-resistant or adhesives can have a shorter curing time. Empa also compares the material with the gene scissors Crispr / Cas, which was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine. This can be used to cure genetic diseases.

With its new start-up, which is based in Dübendorf, Koebel is primarily aimed at companies in the plastics processing, adhesive or sealant production and the building materials industry. "The regulatory hurdles are not so high here and we can relatively easily optimize their products and processes with the companies," he explains in the press release.

Koebel is currently concentrating on expanding its research and development department and on customer acquisition. He first wants to have his macromolecule produced by a contract manufacturer. "In the long term, however, I would like to set up my own production," he emphasizes.

February 2021
Basel processes chemically contaminated building materials

Building materials from the Basel region should in future be processed and recycled in the local building material cycle. Baustoff Recycling Nordwestschweiz AG, a joint venture between Holcim Kies und Beton AG and Antag Recycling AG , founded in August 2020, wants to build a processing plant in the Birsfelden state mine. The former gravel pit is easily accessible by rail, road and the Rhine and is located next to the tunnel portal for the planned Rhine tunnel on the Basel eastern bypass.

The plant in Birsfelden should also be able to process excavated material with the highest chemical pollution level. The processed gravel is then to be further processed in the neighboring concrete plant of Holcim Kies und Beton AG. A total of two thirds of the material should flow back into the building material cycle.

The canton of Basel-Stadt surrenders part of its state mine under construction law for the plant, he writes in a message .

December 2020