“Extraordinary solutions? That’s just for openers!”

Evonik has an idea of what the future will be like. In plastics of all materials, the company is developing sustainable solutions for reaching goals that are consistent with the major global waves resource efficiency and globalized technologies. At the K 2010, a plastics trade fair to be held in October, Evonik plans to showcase an array of new products and applications in Hall 6/B28 and thus give a clear indication of things to come. Solar technology and lightweight construction, where innovative applications are constantly being sought for plastics as the material of the 21st century, are two areas in which Evonik is immersing itself deeply.

Plastics-a demanding business with good prospects
“The plastics business remains one of Evonik’s most profitable growth areas,” says Gregor Hetzke, who is in charge of the unit. There are plans to increase sales revenues up to €2 billion over the next years. The Performance Polymers Business Unit alone invested some €100 million last year.

A real-life example of resource efficiency
The booth will feature the Lotus Exige racing car, which embodies a lightweight construction that is geared to resource efficiency. The focus here is on reducing weight, improving engine and transmission efficiency, and lowering rolling resistance. One adhesion promoter is also contributing to lower weight: VESTAMELT® allows steel and plastic parts to be bonded together in a new way to produce hybrid materials. These solutions are used in vehicle front ends, for example, and in the doors and roofs of the car, though other industries, too, stand to benefit from potential weight reductions of up to 25 percent.

New solar technology another primary focus
Getting the most out of the sun’s energy is one of the big challenges that energy suppliers will face in the future. Concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) is considered one of the most efficient methods for generating electrical power directly from sunlight. Evonik’s new product group PLEXIGLAS® Solar offers a complete range of molding compounds and solid sheets for all kinds of demanding applications in lens manufacture for use in concentrated photovoltaic technology.
Efficiency is also the central theme for CoverForm®, a system solution. Here, in collaboration with KraussMaffei, Evonik has set a milestone in plastics processing: an entirely new, integrated process that lowers manufacturing costs substantially for transparent components with scratch-resistant coatings.

Plastics expertise coming out all pores of the company
In addition to the products mentioned above, Evonik will be showing further innovative solutions from all of its business units, for example, its POLYTREND® liquid color system, beginning on October 27. This system reduces the materials needed to color plastics and, by the same measure, the amount of resources that go into packaging and transportation. Other products such as TEGOMER® Antiscratch 100 improve the scratch resistance of plastics for automobile interiors. VESTINOL® plasticizers are used in, among other applications, PVC processing and in carpet backings. In this way, they have established themselves in the electrical and adhesives industries. Evonik will be presenting interesting Dynasylan® products for the cable and piping industries at the tradeshow, too.

About Evonik
Evonik Industries is the creative industrial group from Germany which operates in three business areas: Chemicals, Energy and Real Estate. Evonik is a global leader in specialty chemicals, an expert in power generation from hard coal and renewable energies, and one of the largest private residential real estate companies in Germany. Our strengths are creativity, specialization, continuous self-renewal, and reliability. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In its fiscal year 2009 about 39,000 employees generated sales of about €13.1 billion and an operating profit (EBITDA) of about €2 billion.

Evonik Industries has been producing specialty chemical products in China since the early 1990’s; with wide-ranging trading relations already in place prior to this. The Group now has a total of 20 companies and 16 production sites in the Greater China region. Evonik regards China as one of the driving forces of the global economy, and we consequently intend to increase our business in Greater China to around €2 billion in the medium term.

Disclaimer
In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.