SAINT_GOBAIN_REGISTRATION_DOCUMENT_2017
One ambition: to improve the well-being of all A Group organization to serve customer and market needs
A GROUP ORGANIZATION TO SERVE 5. CUSTOMER AND MARKET NEEDS Invent the materials of the future and provide 5.1 innovative solutions for buildings and industry: the Innovative Materials Sector
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Some development projects are aimed at maintaining technological leadership in current markets: innovative processes for thin coatings, next generation ceramic grains and abrasive products, more effective double and triple glazing, plastic films for automobiles and building, etc. Other major programs target new markets: electrochromic glazing, ceramic cores for fuel cells, materials for energy storage, or single-use systems for the biopharmaceutical and life sciences industry.
Innovative Materials
High-Performance Materials
Flat Glass
Building Glass solutions
Abrasives
KEY FIGURES
Glazing for the automotive and transport markets
Ceramic Materials
More than 500 industrial sites in 45 countries Flat Glass: over 34,000 employees HPM: over 28,000 employees
Performance Plastics
8 cross-business R&D centers in the United States, Europe, China and India, dedicated mainly to Innovative Materials 2,100 researchers Over 300 patents filed by the Innovative Materials Sector in 2017 Approximately 2/3 of the Group’s R&D expenditure Competitive positions: No. 2 for Flat Glass in the world (1) No. 1 for Flat Glass in Europe (1) Flat Glass: nearly 300 industrial sites across 34 countries No. 1 (1) worldwide High-Performance Materials Ceramics: no. 1 in the world for silicon carbide, zirconium-based abrasive grains, ceramic balls and refractories for the glass industry Abrasives: no. 2 in the world for all abrasives lines Performance Plastics: no. 1 in the world for bearings for automotive applications, single-use tubes and connectors for the pharmaceutical industry, aircraft radomes for communications satellites Saint-Gobain Adfors: no. 1 in the world for glass fiber wall claddings
Technical fabrics (Adfors)
With its unique portfolio of materials and processes for the construction, transport, healthcare, and industrial markets, the Innovative Materials Sector, combining Flat Glass and High-Performance Materials, provides the Saint-Gobain Group with its innovation-oriented culture. It consists of two businesses: Flat Glass; High-Performance Materials (HPM). In line with the strategy for the sector, its R&D is devoted to serving customers by providing them with differentiated solutions. It is supported in this aim by the Group’s eight cross-business research centers devoted to focused technologies, and local teams close to production sites. Of the 3,700 researchers employed by the Group, 2,100 work in Innovative Materials. They work on over 600 research projects involving the design of new products and procedures, providing technical support to the sales and production teams.
High-Performance Materials: more than 200 industrial sites across 36 countries
Source: Saint-Gobain (1)
39 SAINT-GOBAIN - REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2017
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