HELSINKI,
Sept. 30, 2009
(Press Release) -
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.
