- ALTANA honors an innovation within the Group with the ALTANA Innovation Award for the sixth time
- This year’s prize goes to the ELANTAS and ECKART divisions
- New generation of flexible electrical insulation
For the sixth time the specialty chemicals company ALTANA has honored an outstanding product, application, or process innovation within the ALTANA Group with the ALTANA Innovation Award. This year, the prize goes to an innovation team of ALTANA’s ELANTAS and ECKART divisions in the USA, which in recent years has done research on a new generation of flexible electrical insulation materials.
Dr. Christoph Schlünken (left), member of ALTANA’s Management Board, and Dr. Christian Przybyla (right), Chief Technology Officer at ELANTAS, with Thomas Murray, who received the ALTANA Innovation Award 2016 on behalf of his team colleagues Dave Vines, Renato Yutuc and Joe Perdue.
The result of the cross-divisional and cross-functional research work is the ELAN-Film® HT-180 insulation, which has a unique and patented compositional structure. It is used for example in motors and generators of industrial pumps and washing machines. As flexible insulation, the ELAN-Film® HT-180 protects electrical components, for instance copper wires, in motors from mechanical and thermal overload. In addition to absorbing very little moisture, the ELAN-Film® HT-180 flexible insulation has an especially high load-bearing capacity and is especially tear resistant. The material can withstand even the most demanding manufacturing and operating conditions.
“In our eyes, the ELAN- Film® HT-180 insulation is a groundbreaking innovation. Due among other things to its outstanding insulating properties and the fact that it is easy to process, it offers our customers an economically attractive alternative to the products that have been offered so far,” says Dr. Christoph Schlünken, member of ALTANA’s Management Board and responsible for the innovation management within ALTANA. The sustainable approach of the project as well as the cross-divisional and cross-functional work also played a role in the decision, he adds.
A roll of the new product, ELAN-Film® HT-180 insulation.
More applications than ever before
This year’s ALTANA Innovation Award was presented within the framework of the ALTANA Innovation Conference in Wesel on November 9. Every other year, ALTANA researchers and developers from all over the world attend the specialty chemicals company’s innovation conference at the Group’s headquarters.
In 2016, 12 submissions, which met the jury’s ambitious requirements, were made for the ALTANA Innovation Award – more applications than ever before. Many of the product and process innovations were groundbreaking developments. The projects submitted were evaluated based on seven different criteria. The innovative idea behind the project played a role as did the economic advantage the company can gain by implementing it. Furthermore, the projects were assessed based on their originality and creativity, on the aspects of collaboration and cooperation, as well as project management and sustainability.
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.