Kemira Group
Press Release
September 30, 2009 at 15.45 pm (CET+1)
Kemira held the grand opening of its Atlanta research and development center which is located at Technology Enterprise Park on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The official inauguration of the center took place on September 29, 2009, with more than 100 customer representatives, local dignitaries, Georgia Tech officials and Kemira personnel participating.
“Kemira’s strategy focuses on serving water intensive customer industries. The new center is an excellent example of how we execute this strategy and create a strong platform for our organic growth,” says Harri Kerminen, President and CEO of Kemira. Global responsibility in Kemira’s R&D network for paper tissue and recycled fiber research, oil and mining research as well as defoamer and polymer chemistry research are based at this site. The planning phase began in late 2008 and construction was started in January 2009. The building was completed with operations starting up in June 2009.
“With the addition of the new Atlanta R&D Center to our global R&D network, we have integrated our internal competences and enabled collaboration with strong partners such as Georgia Tech,” says Johan Grön, Kemira’s Executive Vice President of R&D and Technology. Kemira’s other R&D centers are located in Espoo, Finland; Leverkusen, Germany and Shanghai, China. A fifth center will be established in São Paulo, Brazil during 2010.
Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the top-rated research universities in the United States. It has a student population of over 19,000, and its learning and research platforms extend to as far as Europe and Asia. Technology Enterprise Park is designed to foster a cluster research community in close association with Georgia Tech.
“Great synergy occurs between the researchers that we have and the folks that are involved in the companies that are located in these parks. Because of the close physical location, people are in continual contact with one another and participate in ongoing discussions,” says Dr. G.P. Peterson, President of Georgia Tech.
For more information, please contact
Kemira Oyj
Johan Grön, Executive Vice President, R&D and Technology
Mobile phone +358 (0)40 546 4186
Hannu Melarti, Region Head for Kemira North America
Phone +1 40 42 19 50 88
Kemira is a global 2.8 billion euro chemicals company that is focused on serving customers in water-intensive industries. The company offers water quality and quantity management that improves customers’ energy, water, and raw material efficiency. Kemira‘s vision is to be a leading water chemistry company. Its paints and coatings business, Tikkurila, aims to be the market leader in decorative paints and selected wood and metal coatings in chosen markets.