Styrolution GmbH, the Germany-based compounder, has entered into a partnership with Neue Materialien Bayreuth GmbH (NMB) and the University of Bayreuth. Styrolution will complement its existing R&D efforts by tapping into the broad intellectual and infrastructural polymer research resources of its new partners.
The company claims the partnership goes beyond traditional models of corporate cooperation with academia in that NMB and the university are making their infrastructure easily accessible to Styrolution. The partnership enables the company to focus its R&D activities on downstream customer innovations across five core industries: automotive, electrical & electronics, household appliances, building & construction, healthcare & diagnostics. Initial projects will focus on the fields of lightweight structures and 3D printing.
Roberto Gualdoni, CEO of Styrolution said: "At Styrolution, innovation is part of our daily lives and is not only reflected in our products but also in the way we do business. Partnering with NMB and the University of Bayreuth to establish an outsourced R&D center grants us direct and immediate access to world-class facilities and research capabilities. I am confident this move will ultimately benefit customers by enabling Styrolution to accelerate and enhance its R&D efforts to co-create new styrenic solutions for customer applications."