Group Management Report Products Safety Environment Human Resources Social Commitment Consolidated Financial Statements 63
Innovation and Employees
Innovation
ALTANA’s products and services are geared to offering our
customers special solutions and giving them a competi-
tive edge. Our customers perceive us as experts and we are
usually integrated in their product development process
at an early stage. To be able to maintain or consolidate our
position as one of the leading specialty chemicals compa-
nies, we have to steadily grow our competencies and contin-
uously expand our own product portfolio.
In the Group’s divisional research and development
facilities, our product portfolio is steadily developed further.
In addition to existing applications in current or new mar-
kets, activities to develop new applications for these markets
are a focal point. To be able to tap into new fields of busi-
ness, we identify the needs of our customers and incorporate
them in the development of new solutions.
To interlink the Group’s diversified knowhow and competencies
across industries and technologies, selected research
and development projects are initiated and coordinated
centrally at the Group level. Via external networks and close
cooperation with universities and research institutes, exter-
nal impetus is absorbed and the possibility of using it in the
Group is examined. In the 2016 fiscal year, we expanded
these activities significantly. Four projects were initiated which
in the next three years should generate new knowledge
for ALTANA in promising technology segments.
Examples of projects that are pushed forward centrally via
ALTANA’s holding company are undertakings in the field
of Printed Electronics, on the one hand, and our strategic
digital-printing partnership with the Israeli Landa group,
on the other. Our divisions will be able to benefit from this
development potential to different extents.
The basis of our innovative strength is a worldwide
research and development network encompassing 1,021 em-
ployees at present. In the year under review, expenses for
research and development activities amounted to € 129.3 mil-
lion (previous year: € 128.1 million).
The continued high share of research and develop-
ment expenses in sales of 6.2 % (previous year: 6.2 %) is yet
another expression of our innovation focus.
Research and development expenses (in € million )
2012 102.3
2013 109.4
2014 113.9
2015 128.1
2016 129.3