Bohus, May 15, 2008. At the inauguration of Eka Chemicals’ new Research and Development Center in Bohus, president Jan Svärd announced that the company will finance a number of doctoral R&D projects in chemistry at universities over the next five years.
“To ensure that our competence remains at the forefront of development, Eka will facilitate the recruitment of qualified experts in the future by funding PhD projects in key areas, primarily pulp and paper chemistry.
In close collaboration with universities, we will allocate EUR 1.3m over a period of five years. We look forward to a fruitful and even closer collaboration with academia,” said Svärd.
Eighty percent of Eka’s operations are outside Sweden and a major part of investments are in emerging countries such as China and Brazil. Demand for paper and supply of raw material, primarily fiber, are important in a global market, but knowledge and technology developed in the Nordic industry are even more important factors for growth and profitability.
“Universities and research institutes have long experience of close cooperation with the pulp and paper industry and its suppliers. This has created results that have reinforced the competitive strength of the industry and we want to consolidate and deepen this cooperation,” said Thomas Berglin, head of Product and Business Development.
“Today, we seem to see decreasing interest in chemistry at high schools and universities, which might be problematic for the industry in a few years’ time if the trend continues,” said Svärd. “Competence supply is of great importance and so AkzoNobel, together with other industries, sees a need for action to increase interest in chemistry among young people and to encourage students dedicated to chemistry.”
For further information, please contact:
Eka Chemicals AB +46 (0)31 58 70 00
Thomas Berglin, head of Product and Business Development
Erik Widén, Communication Manager