Germany-based Evonik, a specialty chemicals company, recently opened an innovation hub at its Allentown site.
The hub is part of the company’s global strategy for Research, Development & Innovation (RD&I). Employees will process and test plastics for 3D printing, medical implants, or performance foams in airplanes or cars and will formulate and test additives for industrial coatings.
“We are strengthening regional RD&I hubs in Asia and North America to benefit from innovative ideas outside of Europe and be closer to our customers in those regions,” Evonik Chief Financial Officer Ute Wolf said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “The new Hub will transform the Allentown site into our premier center for research, business, and innovation in North America.”
The hub includes a pilot plant, a collaboration space designed to support a hybrid and creative work environment, and testing and processing labs.
Evonik expects the facility will create 50 positions for scientists, engineers, and lab technicians. The Allentown site currently employs 300 people.
In 2021, North America contributed 23 percent of Evonik’s annual sales. It is the company’s second-largest revenue source after Europe.
Evonik purchased the specialty additives business of Air Products, an Allentown-based industrial gas producer, in 2017.
The company plans to invest more than $3 billion by 2030 in products with superior sustainability benefits.