Michelman has been awarded a $2.5 million Ohio Third Frontier Industrial Research and Development Center Grant for its new R&D center, that will be named the Michelman Advanced Materials Collaboration Center. It will be built at the site of the company’s headquarters located in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, and is currently scheduled for completion by the spring of 2013.
The grant will help create new jobs at the facility and will be used to enhance Michelman’s ability to develop and commercialize innovative new technologies including water based coatings for paper and flexible packaging, and water based surface modifiers, additives and polymers for industries including fiberglass and composite materials, wood and floor care, industrial coatings, inks, and construction products.
According to Dr. Rick Michelman, VP/Chief Technology Officer at Michelman, “The Ohio Third Frontier’s stated strategic intent is to ‘create an innovation ecosystem that supports the efficient and seamless transition of great ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace.’ Our customers across all industry segments have come to expect ‘great ideas’ from Michelman. The addition of this new R&D center, as well as the collaborative approach we take within our R&D department will position us to develop effective solutions that help our customers win well into the future.”
Dr. Michelman went on to add, “The word ‘Collaboration’ is in the name of the center for a very important reason. It will be physically and conceptually designed so we can collaborate even more closely than we do now, with customers and suppliers, related industry R&D organizations and companies, as well as local colleges, to develop and commercialize technologies across all of our core product lines. Customers across all industry segments are demanding rapid development of innovative, sustainably sourced, environmentally friendly coating and additive solutions. We believe that by taking an ‘open exchange of ideas’ approach within our R&D department, our customers and the environment will be the ultimate beneficiaries.”
The project will also result in significant job opportunities in the Cincinnati, Ohio area -- not just to expand Michelman’s current workforce by 20%, but also by opening up construction and other related jobs to build the new facility.
