NEW IDEAS. Employees experience Evonik s innovation culture p.10. IT Our workplaces are getting more modern p. 16. SpeedFoiler.

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1 THE EMPLOYEE MAGAZINE 05 / 2016 WE ARE CHEMICALS! NEW IDEAS Employees experience Evonik s innovation culture p.10 IT Our workplaces are getting more modern p. 16 SpeedFoiler Lift-off for a new catamaran p. 5 Herman Rombouts On the road in Antwerp p.15 John Rolando Evonik is continuing to invest in the USA p.6 Our Business Lines Oil Additives: Let it flow p. 8

2 2 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 CONTENTS CONTENTS 5 / News from the company 05 Misbah Syed An Indian in the USA, he works in the process control unit in Mobile 09 Roland Gäbler is teaming up with Evonik to bring a fresh breeze to international sailing Herman Rombouts, a driver at the Evonik plant in Antwerp, loves the variety of his job Dear readers, 15 Innovation is a crucial part of our business. It s an essential characteristic of Evonik, as every issue of Folio testifies. Our authors report on innovative products, improved processes, new facilities, and the constantly refined strategies of our company. For example, for this issue they ve written about silicone quats for hair care (page 4), research in the field of artificial photosynthesis (page 6), projects in the area of corporate IT (page 16), and a new production plant in Americana, Brazil (page 15). For the cover story of this issue, we asked, What kind of mindset generates innovations? What promotes, inspires, and structures innovation? What characterizes the frequently invoked innovation culture? At its most recent press conference on research, which was held in Essen in June, Evonik explained how to reinforce an innovation culture: by investing in research, laboratories, and employees, and by providing sufficient creative freedom and a healthy culture of learning from one s mistakes. Folio author Tom Rademacher added further questions: How do creative and innovative thinkers in companies personally experience this culture, and what do they consider its essential features? His interviews 11 Nora Cavara writes novels and supports innovations on the way to market maturity 19 Marta Canas-Ventura developed BitFlip Ink, the idea that won the Global Ideation Jam Mukund Bhure makes sure that wind turbine operators don t have to change the oil too often 16 Bettina Uhlich is running three projects to modernize employees IT equipment yielded a cornucopia of opinions and insights, which you can read starting on page 10. By the way, in this issue Folio too has an innovation to announce: From now on, a new section called Our business lines will appear at irregular intervals to present Evonik s business lines. It will focus on products, markets, technologies, customers, and of course on the innovative teams behind them. The series will begin with an article on Oil Additives (page 8). At this business line, an integration team is currently managing the integration of the special additives division of Air Products (page 7). Here too, we look forward to seeing lots of novelty and innovation. We wish you a thought-provoking reading experience! The Folio editorial team Research on innovation: The author Tom Rademacher (right) with project house manager Andreas Karau on the sidelines of the R&D press conference chemical park Metro builds logistics park in Marl The Metro Group will build its biggest logistics center at Evonik s location in Marl. This will also be the largest trade logistics park in Germany. About 1,000 employees will work in the new central national warehouses with a total area of more than 220,000 square meters of the REAL department stores and the German wholesale centers of Metro Cash & Carry. Evonik and Metro are planning to use a shared operations infrastructure. Plans call for the logistics center to be built within the chemical park s western extension. short quote Innovations are the lifeblood of specialty chemicals. And our investments are bearing fruit Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik acquisition 1 Acquisition reinforces Health Care Evonik is acquiring Transferra Nanosciences Inc., which is based in Burnaby (Canada). This contract development and production company in the biotechnology sector has a wealth of know-how concerning liposomal active-ingredient release systems. The acquisition of this company will help Evonik expand the Parenteral Active Ingredient Formulations unit of the Health Care Business Line. At the press conference: Chief Innovation Officer Ulrich Küsthardt, CEO Klaus Engel, Spokesperson Matthias Ruch, and Reiner Beste, Chairman of the Managing Board of Nutrition & Care (from left) acquisition 2 New in the portfolio: Probiotics Evonik is acquiring the probiotics business of the Norel company, a leading global supplier of animal feed additives. The acquisition includes a production facility in León (Spain). The company s business operations will be integrated into Evonik s Animal Nutrition Business Line. Probiotics are playing a key role in the search for natural alternatives to antibiotics and antibiotic growth promoters. The Norel company s portfolio includes a series of probiotic products for poultry, pigs, and aquacultures. Cover photography: Karsten Bootmann, Evonik Industries (2), istock, Stefan Wildhirt Illustration: C3 Visual Lab Photography on pages 2 3: Evonik Industries (8), Lina Nikelowski, Karsten Bootmann (2), Christoph Bauer, istock (4), Ian Dagnall Commercial Collection/Alamy Stock Photo, Ecover PR

3 NEWS folio 5 / AUGUST EVONIK WORLDWIDE At home abroad When you travel to new places, you start to see things from a different perspective. What at first seems strange suddenly becomes wonderfully normal. Two Evonik expats talk about their (now) familiar daily experiences Growing with innovations At the R&D press conference, Evonik presented its innovation strategy and the pioneering technologies of Nutrition & Care Evonik s second Research & Development press conference in Essen drew a big turnout. In attendance were representatives of local newspapers, business media, agencies, and international specialist media. CEO Klaus Engel and Chief Innovation Officer Ulrich Küsthardt presented the Group s research and development strategy and the relevant statistics to the audience. They had quite a lot to report. In 2015 we increased the value of our innovation pipeline by half a billion euros by comparison with the previous year, said Engel, adding that Evonik aims to increase its sales by over 1 billion in six growth areas by For us, innovation is not an end in itself. It s a driver of profitable growth, Engel said. Ulrich Küsthardt presented the core principles of innovation at Evonik. They include measurability by means of key performance indicators, as well as the continued anchoring of excellence in the innovation processes, the company s organization, and Evonik s strategic goals. Küsthardt also spoke about Evonik s internal innovation culture and the outstanding reputation it has externally. The R&D-related part of the press conference was introduced by Reiner Beste, the Head of Nutrition & Care. He explained the technology platforms and products that enable his segment of the company to improve the lives of millions of people. Insights into concrete innovations were provided by Andreas Karau, Head of the Medical Devices Project House; Christoph Kobler, Head of the Sustainable Healthy Nutrition Product Line; and Hans Henning Wenk, Head of Research at Biobased Materials. Karau presented the use of composites for biodegradable implants. Kobler talked about the ecological advantages of special sources of methionine for edible fishes and crustaceans in aquacultures. The latter aspect is a new development. And Wenk presented organic surfactants (also known as biosurfactants). Evonik is the first company to use biotechnological methods to produce industrial volumes of biosurfactants for household cleaning agents. (TR) Misbah Syed Mobile I grew up in India, and I studied at the University of South Alabama in Mobile (USA). After receiving my degree in chemical engineering, I started to work in Evonik s department of advanced process control at the beginning of This was a unique opportunity for me, because I had already focused on process optimization in my master s thesis. One thing I like a lot about my workplace is the diversity of the group of people I work with. The colleagues who have a lot of experience support us younger ones as much as they can. For everyone who wants to learn, there are plenty of opportunities to pursue personal development and get to know the work routines. Daily life in the USA is also very diverse. I ve concluded that Americans often find their social contacts in their private surroundings, such as their neighborhoods or among their colleagues. In India an individual s extended family forms the core of his or her social connections. Misbah Syed works in the process control unit at Technology & Infrastructure. Today one of his main focus areas is data engineering. He lives in Mobile and speaks Hindi, Urdu, English, and Arabic and is learning German. Reinhold Peters Johannesburg In 2013 I was sent to South Africa to build up the service platform HR, Compliance, and Communication for the sub-saharan Africa region. Although I had already worked for Evonik in Hong Kong (China), Taipei (Taiwan), and Tokyo (Japan), the rainbow nation was a completely new experience for me. The continent of Africa, which is known as the cradle of mankind, offers an incredibly broad variety of cultures and nationalities. During our leisure time, my wife and I are taking advantage of the opportunity to get to know Africa in all of its facets. There s an enormous variety of things to see and experience. South Africa and its neighboring countries are tremendously attractive for tourists. The highlights include the Cape of Good Hope, the cliffs of the Drakensberg Mountains, the tropical region along the coast of the Indian Ocean, and the inimitable encounters with the Big Five species: elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and buffaloes. Reinhold Peters has been responsible for HR Management, Communication, and Compliance for the sub-saharan Africa region since His enthusiasm about the region is catching: His sons, other family members, and friends enjoy their frequent visits with him. Biotech in the supermarket: At the end of the press conference, the journalists were able to experience innovation at first hand in the form of sugar-based organic surfactants developed by Evonik. These products are already being used in organic household cleaning agents of the ecover brand

4 4 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 PRODUCTS + INNOVATIONS P I PRODUCTS + INNOVATIONS More than just smooth and shiny Did you know? EVONIK IN ACTION The success surprised us Christian Hartung is the Technical Manager for Rinse-Off at Personal Care ABIL ME 45: how it works 1. Distressed hair with damaged cuticles is restored. 2. Healthy hair with smoothly lying cuticles is protected from harmful effects such as heat from hair dryers and hair irons 2 1 How did the idea of a microemulsion arise? Initially, we were looking at the use of especially large silicone molecules as a way of improving hair care. We then developed the microemulsion so as to solve the technical problems we had with dispersing these in the actual product. Were there any surprises during development? We were expecting it to protect against heat damage and color loss, but the strength of these properties surprised us. We were also surprised by the product s success in the growth market of Asia, where the thicker hair types predominant there seem particularly to benefit from the large silicone molecules. A microemulsion for shampoos and conditioners not only provides optimal hair care but also prevents heat damage and keeps coloring agents from being washed out. Manufacturers can add this formulation to their products without problems Smooth, shiny, and easy to comb: That s just how hair should be after washing. This effect is achieved by silicones in shampoos and conditioners and the larger the silicone molecules, the more effective they are. However, large silicone molecules are more difficult to formulate i.e. to incorporate into cosmetic formulations because they tend to become unevenly distributed in the care product and therefore on the hair. That reduces their beneficial effects. Thanks to its microemulsion ABIL ME 45, Evonik has now been able to resolve this conflict. The experts from Personal Care have developed a molecule that has a large T-shaped silicone framework. At the three ends of this framework are so-called quaternary nitrogen groups. These are formed in such a way that the silicone molecule is compatible with both water and fats, and can therefore be formulated as an emulsion. Manufacturers of conditioners and shampoos can add this emulsion at any stage of Are you going to further enhance the product? The ABIL ME 45 project is now finished. But microemulsions will certainly continue to play a role in care products. the production process. The large size of the silicone molecule means that this new microemulsion from Evonik is particularly effective at making hair smooth and shiny all over. What s more, it provides a coating that not only prevents coloring agents from being washed out quickly but also reduces the heat damage from using a hair dryer or hair irons. ABIL ME 45 has been such a success that Evonik has decided to market it as a premium product over the coming years. (LOH) Photography: Evonik Industries (4), Kirsten Neumann, filmaton.tv, Debo Illustrations: C3 Visual Lab ABIL, NANOPOX, PuraMem, ROHACELL and VESTAMIN are registered trademarks of Evonik Industries AG or one of its subsidiaries. They are indicated in capital letters throughout the text.

5 PRODUCTS + INNOVATIONS folio 5 / AUGUST Plane sailing Catching the wind and riding the waves: Spectators of catamaran racing at this summer s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro are in for a breathtaking display. And thanks to new designs, these craft will soon be able to skim even faster across the water: Olympic medalist Roland Gäbler and Evonik are building a high-speed catamaran that will hydroplane even in light winds. Roland Gäbler is an expert on the water. A professional sailor from Bremen, he has won over 70 international events, multiple world and European championships, and a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. But the 52-year-old has one more dream: He would like to turn sailing into a mass spectator sport. Regattas usually take place miles away from spectators, Gäbler explains. That s because the boats need the wind and water of the open seas. But that breaks my heart. It would be much better if people could sit on the shore and watch the boats just as if they were in a stadium. Spearheading this vision is the SpeedFoiler, a carbon-fiber catamaran developed in conjunction with Evonik. Sailed close to the land by two people, the craft is light in weight and has a large sail area. This remedies a further shortcoming of sailing: The SpeedFoiler needs only a light breeze for its twin hulls to lift from the water and skim across the surface on hydrofoils. The boat can be sailed in winds of force one to seven, which corresponds to 97 percent of all wind conditions, says Gäbler. As well as being light, the catamaran must also be extremely strong in order to withstand the forces of nature. It is here that Evonik enters the picture. Its products are found in the special material used to construct the two hulls, the rudder, and the foils. Strength is provided by a carbon-fiber mat soaked in resin. The hardener for this is VESTAMIN. Extra resilience comes from the additive NANOPOX, which stops the material from cracking in the event of a collision. The rudder and the foils are made entirely of this composite material, whereas the hulls in the interest of weight reduction are constructed like a sandwich, with a solid composite outer shell around a robust and lightweight inner core of ROHACELL structural foam. This high-tech material enables us to squeeze out the last few percentage points of performance from the boat, says Guido Streukens, Senior Manager of the Business Development unit of the Crosslinkers Business Line at Evonik. These products and their use in high-strength lightweight engineering are already benefiting automobiles and aircraft. And now they will help sailboats go even faster. The first SpeedFoiler is due for completion in October. The boat will be initially sailed by Roland Gäbler and his wife, Nahid, at major regattas such as the Kieler Woche. After that, Gäbler has another aim: We want to launch an international event for this class of boat: the Foiling World Cup, with all the best sailors competing against one another. (KK) short quote Roland Gäbler is a ten-time world champion, a 15-time European champion, and the winner of an Olympic bronze medal The Speed- Foiler is the Formula One car of the future: fast, spectacular, and ecological. Our medium is wind and water. WIND FORCE km/h Light air, small ripples km/h Small wavelets, wind vanes start to move km/h Wave crests begin to break, leaves on trees start to move km/h Moderate breeze, waves with whitecaps, loose paper is lifted up km/h Long waves, many whitecaps km/h Strong breeze, long waves form, white foam crests, some spray km/h Sea heaps up, trees in motion km/h Gale, high waves, twigs break off km/h High cresting waves, minor damage to houses km/h Storm, trees uprooted In brief News nutrition&care Concrete reinforced with carbon Modern construction methods demand modern construction materials: 130 partners from science, business, and trade associations are developing a new type of concrete. Reinforced with carbon fiber instead of steel, it is both more powerful and more durable. The project C³ Carbon Concrete Composite also includes Evonik as a partner. The Business Line Interface & Performance is working on ways of improving the bond between carbon fiber and the concrete. C³ is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. of respondents to a survey on the level of innovation at Evonik consider the company a specialist in its field. Eighty percent say that Evonik is innovative. The study canvassed politicians, trade association representatives, journalists, scientists, and investors as well as customers, suppliers, and employees. THE SPEEDFOILER Length: 7.62 m Width: 4.26 m Mast height: 12 m Weight: 178 kg Speed: max. 70 km/h km/h Violent storm, extremely high waves, spray everywhere 12 >117 km/h Hurricane, sea is completely white New in Marl WHAT: Thin-film composite plant COUNTRY: Germany SEGMENT: Resource Efficiency PRODUCT: PURAMEM membranes for filtration in organic solvents APPLICATION: Coating membranes with silicones CAPACITY: Over 500,000 square meters a year MARKET: Worldwide Foils function like the wings of a plane. At a certain 1. speed they generate 2. lift, thereby raising the hull out of the water. As resistance 3. decreases, the boat planes on hydrofoils across the surface at ever-increasing speeds Direction of Travel

6 6 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 PRODUCTS + INNOVATIONS 5 minutes with John Rolando Anja Thiessenhusen is a project manager at Creavis in Marl. John Rolando has been the Regional President for North America since April 1, He joined the Group in 1987 and has also held various positions in Germany Mr. Rolando, how is the U.S. economy doing at the moment? It s doing well. We are experiencing slow but steady growth and a great willingness to make investments. One of the strongest forces driving this growth is the low price of energy. Which markets are growing? Our coating and plastic products are dong well. Every car in the USA contains $3,500 worth of chemical products on average, while the average new home contains $15,000 of these materials. The automotive and housing markets are both performing well, and we want to participate in this growth more strongly in the future. North America is also a key market for the Health Care Business Line. It s an important segment for us and one in which we will make additional investments in the future. The market for animal feed additives is also growing rapidly. Can you give any specific examples? New products are being demanded for house coatings. Our offers play a major role here for example, in coatings for outer coverings or strips made of PVC. In the electric mobility sector, Tesla is now moving out of the luxury segment by launching a car that costs around $30,000. Electric mobility is especially dependent on lightweight engineering, an area for which our plastics and composites are well suited. I think we have great opportunities here. How is Evonik responding to the positive market development in the USA? By making investments. A good example of this is the new Mepron facility in Mobile, which serves the growing agricultural market. We re certainly far from done here. We will invest in a facility for precipitated silicic acid and have just signed a contract for the acquisition of Transferra Nanosciences near Vancouver, Canada. What are the foundations for more growth? Highly qualified employees, low energy costs, and political stability. We re working hard to continue to exploit the opportunities we encounter. The acquisition of Air Products special additives division has put North America even more strongly into the limelight. What are your expectations? The acquisition is a perfect fit. Air Products is well-established in the region, and it has outstanding employees and high sales. Its products complement ours very well and are real highlights. These activities will boost our business and are very valuable for us. (BAU) I m working on a study concerning artificial photosynthesis. However, unlike plants, we don t want to turn carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into sugar, but into specialty chemicals. To do so, we have combined two technologies. In an electrolyzer from Siemens, we inject the greenhouse gas CO 2 into water. We then pass an electric current through the soda water in order to trigger a chemical reaction. This reaction produces carbon monoxide (CO), which serves as Admixtures from Evonik are used during paper production performance materials Valuable waste What are you working on, Ms. Thiessenhusen? Some of the materials that were created as byproducts during the production of C4 gas mixtures in Marl and Antwerp (Belgium) were usually treated as waste in the past and disposed of. Evonik now sells these materials, which are used during paper manufacturing, in the textile industry, and in metalworking. Selling such former waste products pays off in multiple ways. The total contribution margin amounts to around 7.5 million. Moreover, Evonik was able to reduce the CO 2 emissions and energy costs at these locations. INQUIRING ON SITE food for the bacteria that live in the Creavis gas fermenter. In the same way that human beings consume carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, the microorganisms eat the CO-rich gases. The substances that they subsequently excrete are used to manufacture specialty chemicals. Until now, the chemical industry has used fossil fuels such as petroleum to produce energy and chemicals. However, these fuels are becoming more scarce and expensive. In artificial photosynthesis, petroleum is replaced by renewable sources of energy. The electrolyzer is fed with leftover electricity from wind and solar power for example, electricity that is generated by strong winds but not consumed. We are currently working together with Siemens to analyze the process with regard to its commercial feasibility. As the project manager, I coordinate this cooperation and bring together the various aspects that the teams are working on. New in Castro WHAT: Production facility COUNTRY: Brazil SEGMENT: Nutrition & Care PRODUCT: BIOLYS APPLICATION: Animal feed MARKET: Latin America and export BIOLYS is a registered trademark of Evonik Industries AG or its subsidiaries. It is indicated in capital letters throughout the text. Photography: Debo (2), istock, Evonik Industries, Air Products, Andreas Pohlmann Illustrations: C3 Visual Lab

7 ACQUISITION folio 5 / AUGUST PREPARATIONS FOR REACHING THE BIG GOAL U S A Allentown In early July, representatives of Evonik and Air Products came together for the first business integration meeting, which was held at the Air Products headquarters in Allentown (Pennsylvania, USA) The acquisition of the special additives division of Air Products has now entered a new phase following the first major business integration meeting in the USA. However, extensive integration work is also taking place behind the scenes The integration will be a big success BRIEF DEFINITIONS The signing is the conclusion of an agreement concerning the acquisition of a company in whole or in part. The closing is a term commonly used to refer to the final implementation of an acquisition agreement. Once all of the conditions of the agreement are fulfilled, the purchaser obtains the shares of the acquired company during the closing. Anti-trust regulations are part of each country s national legislation. Among other things, these regulations stipulate that the respective anti-trust authorities must approve all acquisitions above a certain size. The transaction cannot be completed before the authorities have given their approval, and the exchange of information between the buyer and the seller is restricted until then. The work streams are the areas where employees implement specific aspects of the integration process. Frank Lelek is currently speaking English more often than German. As the head of the program office that is coordinating the steps of the integration of the special additives division of Air Products into the Evonik organization, Lelek regularly holds discussions with his counterpart in the USA, Larry Corcoran, as well as with the latter s colleagues. Although these discussions are often by phone, Lelek also travels to the Air Products headquarters in Allentown twice a month. However, these meetings and workshops in the USA aren t simply scheduled. Instead, all of the desired dates for appointments have to be submitted with a statement of reasons to the lawyers at Evonik and Air Products. After examining the request, the lawyers decide whether the meetings should take place or not. But is such a complicated process really necessary? Yes, according to Christian Schmidt, who jointly manages the project with Roberto Vila-Keller on the Evonik core team. Both parties want to play it safe and avoid anything that might endanger the process, says Schmidt. However, the employees of Air Products are justifiably interested in knowing more about their possible new employer, Evonik. The company has therefore set up an intranet portal that provides information about Evonik, answers questions, and announces upcoming facility visits, which began in late July. The visits primarily focus on human resources topics, which we prepare for each location separately, says Lelek. As a result, the delegations include two representatives from Human Resources, a member of one of the business lines into which the division will be incorporated, and the respective regional president. We want to reach all of the employees during these visits either in person at the location in question or via conference calls in the case of very small facilities, says Lelek. The work is currently focusing on the ten functional work streams that are in Schmidt s area of responsibility. Less visible is the work that the six business integration teams are now doing in the machine room, as Vila-Keller puts it. Vila-Keller is also responsible for these teams, which are now preparing the continuation of business operations. However, they won t be able to cooperate with their new colleagues in person until the closing. Among other things, we are currently holding discussions to determine which services Evonik will be able to take over right away after the closing and which services will be bought from Air Products for a limited period of time in transitional service agreements, says Schmidt. All of the measures are geared toward one overriding goal: We have to be completely functional on Day 1. (CHE) Mr. Kaufmann, what impression did you get at the meeting in Allentown? A very positive one. The management team of the special additives division is extremely competent and experienced. It will also benefit Evonik by making it more international and diverse. We talked openly and constructively about all of the key issues. We developed good, viable plans for the steps that have to be taken until Day 1, when the closing will occur. However, all decisions regarding the integration itself are conditional on the authorities final approval. What are you currently focusing on the most? Our main goal is to keep the key employees and to smoothly acquire and efficiently continue the operations of the special additives division of Air Products on the day of the closing. At Evonik, more than 130 employees are currently working to ensure Day 1 readiness, as we on the project team call it. So what exactly needs to be done? Besides the technical and legal aspects, the focus is clearly on the successful integration of the new Evonik employees into our company. The people and their skills are the most important asset for us. That s why we want to continuously Ralph Sven Kaufmann is the Chief Operating Officer of Evonik and a member of its Executive Board keep them up to date on how the project is progressing. What other factors are influencing the integration process? Despite all the energy we re putting into the integration process, we have to comply with the pertinent anti-trust regulations. Because the transaction hasn t been completed yet, Air Products and Evonik have to operate independently of one another until Day 1. We have to play it safe here and mustn t take any hasty and ill-considered steps, but instead concentrate for now on the joint preparations for the business transfer. The project s actual integration phase will begin on Day 1 and is expected to be completed at the end of What expectations do the employees of Air Products special additives division have concerning their future employer? My impression is that they are looking forward to becoming a part of Evonik soon. During our meeting in Allentown, I noticed there was a lot of positive energy and happy anticipation about the prospect of working at a specialty chemicals company in the future. That s another reason why I m very optimistic that the integration will be very successful.

8 8 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 BUSINESS LINES Oil Additives LUBRICATION EXPERTS The Oil Additives Business Line develops additive technologies for improving fuel and energy efficiency as well as productivity in motor oils, transmission oils, and drive fluids Oil mobilizes the whole transportation sector. Moreover, 40 percent of global energy demand is based on oil. Worldwide oil reserves are finite, however. To ensure that construction vehicles, cars, machines, and wind turbines operate not just smoothly and with minimal maintenance but also economically and fuel-efficiently, Oil Additives has been improving oil for these applications for 70 years. Workers at the Evonik Business Line are modifying long-chain polymers that are added to the oil and control its flowability. After all, the effectiveness of lubricating oils depends on their viscosity, and that in turn depends on the temperature. At low temperatures all oils become thicker (more viscous) and at high temperatures they become thinner. This effect can be most improved through comb polymers, which Oil Additives brought onto the market about five years ago. Their advantage is that when the temperature in the motor or transmission oil rises, their long backbone of short-chain methacrylates and other co-monomers is stretched out. The side chains consisting of polyolefins arrange themselves like the teeth of a comb and hold the polymer in solution. When the temperature falls, the backbone collapses and makes itself so small that the oil is thickened far less than with conventional polymers. It therefore remains more fluid. In order to develop additional forward-looking system solutions, the Friction & Motion Competence Center was formed in Researchers and application engineers at the center will link their expertise in lubricant additive development, high performance polymers, and coating systems. (FF) FACTS Employees: 450 Production locations: Darmstadt/Weiterstadt (Germany) Houston (Texas, USA) Jurong Island (Singapore) Lauterbourg (France) Morrisburg (Ontario, Canada) Technology centers: Darmstadt (Germany) Horsham (Pennsylvania, USA) Shanghai (China) Tsukuba (Japan) LUCAS VOIGT hydraulics More sand and rocks with less energy When we test our additives in excavators, we do it right, whether they re digging or loading. Only with precise, statistically useful data that leaves no questions unanswered can we convince our customers of the merits of our DYNAVIS technology whether it be in Canada or India. The drive motor of an excavator powers hydraulic pumps that move the bucket, arm, boom, track, and driver s cab. If the excavator oil is too thin, it fails to reach the places that it should. That is called leakage loss. If the oil is too thick, it can only be pumped by expending a great deal of energy. Excavator oils that contain our additives shovel more material in the same time and consume less fuel in the process. To demonstrate the advantages of our viscosity index improvers beyond any doubt, we have to repeat the tests again and again. This is one of those cases where I take my grandfather s advice to heart: Do it well or not at all. Lucas Voigt is Team Leader Engineering in the Performance Test Laboratory in Darmstadt Photography: Evonik Industries (4), istock, Lawrence Kesterson, Shutterstock (2) Let it flow The management team (from left): Doug Placek (Americas), Carsten Schminke (Supply Chain), Hendrik Schönfelder (Bioproducts), Christopher Gilbert (Production), Ralf Düssel (Managing Director), Ceylan Ünsal (HR), Michael Zink (Marketing), Wei Kiat Tan (Asia Pacific), Alexander Dardin (Controlling), Richard van Sleet (Customer Relations), Stephan Fengler (Innovation)

9 BUSINESS LINES folio 5 / AUGUST automotive Less fuel and a long life Our products based on the DRIVON technology are real building blocks for fuel savings, but they shouldn t achieve their benefits at the expense of the longevity of vehicle components. The functionalities that customers ask for most often are dispersibility and film formation to improve the performance of lubricants with regard to cleanliness, wear protection during start-up, and reduction of friction. Our additives improve the quality of the base oil and suppress undesired byproducts such as combustion residues. That reduces wear on vehicle parts and minimizes the environmental impact. Jackie Liu is Global Business Director Engine Oils in the Technology & Business Center in Horsham MUKUND BHURE JACKIE LIU industrial Changing oil less often at great heights Fluctuations in temperature and wind strength put a lot of strain on the gear systems of today s wind turbines, which can weigh up to six tons. These gear systems cost approximately 200,000. So it is worthwhile to run them with oils that protect against wear and are weather and corrosion-resistant. An oil change at a height of 80 meters isn t child s play either. Up to 600 liters of used oil must be pumped off with negative pressure, and then 600 liters of fresh oil must be pumped up with excess pressure. With our additives of the NUFLUX brand, wind turbine operators can rely on having high-quality oil for a long time. In fact, they can wait twice as long before changing the oil. Wind power is already covering almost half of the growth in electricity demand worldwide. It will allow us to reduce CO 2 emissions further and improve the air. Mukund Bhure is Global Marketing Manager Industrial Lubricants in the Technology & Business Center in Horsham We have a global operation Ralf Düssel is Head of the Oil Additives Business Line What makes Oil Additives special? Our employees. We have a global and wide-ranging organization with strong people who ve made a name for themselves in the industry. Above all, our customers appreciate the technical expertise that enables Oil Additives to stand out among competitors. Furthermore, we provide a global production platform that reliably supplies our customers with our additive technology anywhere in the world. What is your focus when growing your business? We believe that resource efficiency will become generally established in the oil and lubricants industry. It won t happen right away, but the trend is clear. So our focus is on solutions that contribute to the resource-efficient lubrication systems of tomorrow. With the Friction & Motion Competence Center, we re taking this approach further by concentrating our efforts on a variety of materials, surfaces, and lubricants for reducing friction and wear. We see considerable potential for growth here. How exactly do you intend to achieve this growth? With the systematic expansion of our competencies in neighboring fields of application and new technologies. That will happen first and foremost organically. But we re also looking around for suitable partners. There is a lot of potential for startups, in particular, to complement our current portfolio. And in addition to that, one key to success definitely lies in market communication. As the saying goes, Do good things and talk about it, and the effectiveness of that comes from our extensive field tests with customers, which open up quite a few doors for us with OEMs and end users. Christopher Gilbert, Production We train and support employees so that they actively take on responsibility in safety, quality, and process improvement. Whenever possible, we form teams from several different plants, and they then develop the best possible methods Michael Zink, Marketing Our technologies make a huge contribution to efficiency in the end uses. To demonstrate that contribution when we talk with customers directly, data from quantitative field trials under real conditions plays an essential role Richard van Sleet, Customer Relations Our customers particularly Shell, BP, and Total appreciate the great technical expertise of Evonik. Some of our colleagues even serve as industry representatives on important industry committees Stephan Fengler, Innovation We re developing our additives further and collaborating with various internal and external partners on research into new system solutions in other words, to find the best combinations of material, surface, and lubricant for reducing friction and wear DRIVON, DYNAVIS and NUFLUX are registered trademarks of Evonik Industries AG or one of its subsidiaries. They are indicated in capital letters throughout the text.

10 10 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 TOP STORY Photography: Evonik Industries (3), Lina Nikelowski, Stefan Wildhirt, Rolf van Melis Illustrations: C3 Visual Lab

11 TOP STORY folio 5 / AUGUST OPINIONS The people Folio interviewed Sarah Fahrendorf joined Evonik as a researcher at Creavis. She now works at Global Process Optimization in the Resource Efficiency Segment Günter Schmitt joined the company in He has headed many R&D teams since then. He is now the director of the new Center of Excellence for Friction & Motion Nora Cavara joined Evonik in She helps innovations reach market maturity at the Business and Launch Management unit of Creavis Ronny Sondjaja is a product manager at Oil Additives. He discovered his penchant for communications in 2008 at Evonik s product development unit in Singapore Georg Oenbrink made innovation management his hobbyhorse in He now heads Innovation Networks & Communication Robert Franke teaches theoretical chemistry at Ruhr University Bochum. However, his main profession is a very practical one: He heads hydroformylation research at Evonik Innovation culture THE DRIVING FORCE OF IDEAS Evonik Industries is an innovative industrial group, according to a representative survey. This assessment is verified by our full innovation pipeline. But what makes ideas arise and thrive? And how do employees experience such a culture of innovation? Folio decided to find out not by making a representative survey, but by conducting personal interviews Although you cannot buy culture, that doesn t mean you can get it for free. It s the same with a culture of innovation. Companies that want to provide their lateral thinkers, developers, and researchers with fertile ground for their ideas have to work hard, invest, and give their employees a certain amount of freedom. Evonik does all that. At least, this is its policy. But how much of this work and investment is actually productive? And whom does it benefit? Corporate Innovation commissioned a survey that recently provided a partial answer to these questions. More than 2,100 politicians, association representatives, customers, investors, journalists, scientists, and employees were asked how they assessed Evonik s innovative capabilities. The results showed that Evonik is perceived to be quite good in this respect. In fact, around 80 percent of the people surveyed said that Evonik is innovative or very innovative. Moreover, 84 percent of the scientists surveyed were of this opinion. Nine out of ten people questioned said that Evonik is an expert in its field. These results are very encouraging. Together with our innovation pipeline, whose value recently increased by 500 million, the survey shows that our company does many things right when it comes to creating a culture of innovation. But what characterizes this culture? And how are the employees personally contributing to it? Curiosity It all begins with curiosity: Why are things the way they are? Does it have to be that way? Can t it be done better? Such questions are automatically raised by innovative thinkers such as Sarah Fahrendorf. Because she always wanted to know how our world works, it was only natural that she decided to study physics. And what happened then? I found a team that didn t penalize me for my curiosity, says Fahrendorf, who is now 32. It left me free rein and took my ideas seriously. The team Fahrendorf is talking about is Creavis. Today, she no longer does research, but instead ensures that best practices are applied in production and in the field of technology. However, she is still curious. I helped shape my job profile from the very start, she says. Curiosity is my driving force, even though I now use it to reach other goals. The chemist Günter Schmitt is convinced that although you can t learn curiosity, you can indeed unlearn it. Although Sarah Fahrendorf hadn t even started school yet when Schmitt joined Evonik, he nevertheless knows how to get his younger colleagues swept away by his curiosity and enthusiasm. An avid science fiction fan, Schmitt spreads this mood intentionally. When I came here from the university as a young paper chemist, I was immediately allowed to make my mark. Everything was imaginable and permitted. Schmitt says that he now tries to communicate this feeling to all of his new colleagues as well. If you don t do that, the spark will go out. Creativity Is it possible for a person to have no creativity? Not according to Nora Cavara. Everybody is creative in a way, she says. However, Cavara is unusual, since few people would write a doctoral dissertation about molecular brain research and at the same time compose a musical about this topic (title: Somewhere Over the Brainstem). Or write a novel each year in November. To do all that, you need lots of creative energy. Cavara calls such people ignited, because they are on fire for their cause and always have more ideas than time. You need such people around you. It lets you soar, she says. You can t be creative if you don t talk with other people, says Ronny Sondjaja. If I m simply an egghead who works alone in a lab, my ideas will never lead to anything. Innovation is a bit like cooking, he explains. You first need the right ingredients and a maximum amount of input. Not until you have made your selection should you go to your kitchen, lab or desk to create what you want to achieve. To promote this process, Sondjaja developed the ixplore forum, where ideas are submitted for discussion even if they are only halfbaked. Openness No matter how big or how good we are, there are always people out there who can help us, says Georg Oenbrink. His business card says that his field is innovation networks. This means

12 12 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 TOP STORY iner as well as a scientific advisor to organizations such as the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis. In these functions, he serves as one of Evonik s ambassadors to the scientific community, where the currency consists of publications, citations, and long-term reputations as well as personal contacts. You talk here about interesting papers, industrial developments, and the academic sector. The scientists introduce interesting projects and colleagues to one another. Mr. Küsthardt, Evonik wants to become one of the most innovative companies in the world. Why? Innovation isn t an end in itself. On the contrary, every increase of our innovative capabilities helps to boost the sales and profits of Evonik. And we want to make an even bigger contribution here. What exactly is your goal here? At the moment, products and applications that are less than five years old account for slightly less than 10 percent of Evonik s total sales. That s much too low, in our view. Our medium-term goal is to increase it to 16 percent. That s an ambitious target. How do you plan to achieve it? We want to reach it by promoting a culture of innovation that combines passion and a willingness to take risks with creativity and entrepreneurial thinking. In addition, it regards mistakes and dead ends as part of the innovation process. That s because the fear of making mistakes has a negative impact on research and development. But wouldn t it be bad if mistakes occurred too often? That s right. And mistakes A culture for innovations Ulrich Küsthardt is the Chief Innovation Officer of Evonik shouldn t be continuously repeated either. That s why we critically analyze all of our projects. We want to learn from our mistakes, after all, so that we will do things better the next time around. In addition to a culture of innovation, are you also using new structures? Yes, we are. For example, we revised our portfolio to increase the share of medium and long-term innovation projects. Moreover, we are now focusing on six selected growth areas*. How does the acquisition of Air Products special additives division fit into all of this? Because this division has a well-filled research and development pipeline, the acquisition will further strengthen our innovative capabilities. A Creavis project house and all of its projects was recently transferred to our line operations It s an outstanding example of how the project houses work can be developed into new fields of expertise such as Composites, as was the case here. I m convinced that we will be similarly successful with our Medical Devices Project House. (CHE) * Growth areas In the future, Evonik will mainly focus its R&D activities in six areas with above-average growth rates: sustainable nutrition, health, ingredients for food with health benefits, membranes, applications for cosmetics, and smart materials. By 2025, these six growth areas are expected to generate far more than 1 billion of additional sales per year. Gerd Löhden is the Head of Innovation at the Resource Efficiency Segment. Each year he tries to gain about 20 to 30 new creative lateral thinkers for his team that Oenbrink and his colleagues develop models that help us cooperate with other companies as well as with universities, consortia, researchers, and the general public, he says. Sometimes it s the modalities that are new, while at other times it s the partners. In most cases, it s both. An example of this is Evonik s call for research proposals for solving specific issues. We discover and create interfaces between research subjects and industries, because that s where innovation takes place nowadays, he says. Robert Franke calls this resonance. You have to get people resonating, he says. Franke s colleagues call him a walking network. Franke is a scientific appraiser, professor, doctoral advisor, and second exam- Sandra Reemers managed the recently completed Composites Project House. She is looking forward to tackling new challenges in business operations as soon as her parental leave is over Young researchers In keeping with his personal and professional convictions, Gerd Löhden maintains close contact with young researchers. I find it very motivating to watch how young colleagues develop, he says. It s therefore fitting that Löhden s position as Head of Innovation at Resource Efficiency always requires him to be on the lookout for smart people. He attracts these people by offering them good prospects. We look for people who want to change and shape things, he says. But how does one motivate such people, we ask. You do that by giving them responsibilities early on. They should tackle ever greater challenges and not do jobs for which they already know everything. That s Sandra Reemers experience as well. She headed her first small team at Evonik right after she earned her doctoral degree in her late twenties. She founded a project house only six years later. People also have to be able to test their leadership skills a bit, Reemers says. Although you need to trust people for that, this trust will be passed on to the employees. Excellence According to Walter Meon, people often underestimate the importance of organizing innovation. A list of innovation projects is by no means a strategy, Meon quotes one of his supervisors as saying. Successes are rarer than failures when you work on innovations, says Meon, who has been part of the Group for the past 27 years. Walter Meon had to learn and try out a lot of things before he could begin to build up an in-house advisory group for cutting-edge innovation management in 2006 Harald Jakob reconciled the innovation portfolios of two completely different research areas with one another during his time as Head of IP Strategy and Program Management Photography: Stefan Wildhirt (3), Lina Nikelowski (2), Debo (2), Evonik Industries (2), Jonas Ratermann, Uwe Feuerbach Illustrations: C3 Visual Lab

13 TOP STORY folio 5 / AUGUST Gerhard Bachstädter is a gatekeeper at Strategy & Innovation Excellence, where he repeatedly helps give exciting projects the attention they need Walter Pfefferle performs two roles at Nutrition & Care: He is responsible for New Business Development as well as for Innovation Management. He warns against pseudo-innovations in both fields Thomas Kaufmann heads Sustainability Development at Nutrition & Care. However, he also considers himself the foreign minister of sustainability at Animal Nutrition Guido Vornholt joined Evonik as an expert for neural networks. Due to his background in ecology and climatology, he eventually became involved in life cycle management Robert Stade was recently appointed Head of Corporate Foresight, an in-house team that makes detailed analyses of the future for Evonik Björn Theis worked at a consulting firm for corporate foresight before he joined Evonik. He also teaches futurology at FU Berlin That s why we have to carefully consider how we should produce innovations. This expertise is now referred to as excellence, which is a standard of performance for evaluating the prospects and progress of every innovation project. We can t manage any projects that we can t evaluate and compare, says Meon. Harald Jakob found that out recently when Meon s team helped him reconcile two completely different research fields. Research is done differently in classic methionine chemistry than in biotechnology, says Jakob. The two fields employ completely different levers. However, the only way we can know whether we are using our resources efficiently is if the input and the expected output are comparable. Focus Innovation portfolio management might be a long expression, but it stands for something that s surpris- ingly clear: focus. Such management is needed whenever limited resources such as time, money, personnel, and attention have to be assigned correctly. We always have more ideas than resources, says Gerhard Bachstädter. He also points out that it would be alarming if this weren t the case. If we use the same amount of resources for each project, none of them would be successful in the end. Evonik therefore focuses on its strengths and strategic growth areas. Our work can be bothersome at times, says Walter Pfefferle. Like Bachstädter, Pfefferle monitors innovation projects to make sure they help Evonik reach its strategic objectives. However, Pfefferle sees himself less as a controller than as a helper who makes sure the right topics are addressed with sufficient commitment and zeal. Every good idea needs a lobby so that it doesn t go under in the daily grind, he says. Sustainability One of the obstacles that every innovation at Evonik has to deal with is the question of sustainability. Since 2014, it s been incorporated into the software that we use to evaluate projects, says Thomas Kaufmann. Evonik is responding here to customer demands. We are making people aware of the need for sustainability even if we aren t pressured to do so yet, he says. All of us are ambassadors of sustainability, not just the sales team, he adds. The need to make things better and more sustainable is an important driver for everyone working on innovations. Clearly communicated goals are helpful here, as are clear metrics. Both of these factors come together in life cycle management (LCM). To date, Evonik has evaluated the environmental sustainability of 70 percent of the external sales of its chemical segments. Guido Vornholt is happy to be helping to make such evaluations. Even before he landed a job at Evonik, Vornholt combined data expertise and a belief in technology with the desire to make the world a better place. At Evonik, Vornholt helped create process automation s LCM group in its current form. These metrics are finally helping us measure and compare environmental and social sustainability, he says. I can now quickly see whether an innovation is actually sustainable or only appears to be so. That s why Vornholt has never regretted working for a chemical company, even though he is an ecologist. Thanks to LCM, we know how big the levers are that a specialty chemicals company like ours can use. Farsightedness Every innovation project is also a bet on how the future will turn out. It s therefore important that the future opportunities and risks for Evonik are assessed as accurately as possible, says Robert Stade. As the Head of Corporate Foresight, it s Stade s job to make such assessments. But this type of thinking is required of everyone who wants to bring an idea to market. You otherwise risk developing innovations that have no relation to future needs, he says. According to Stade, two types of farsightedness are needed: The first of these is a kind of telescope that lets me focus on my target. The second is a broader view that allows me to look to the right and left of my goal. But is it even possible to use both at the same time? It isn t easy, admits Björn Theis, a futurologist on Stade s team. To ensure the team doesn t dissipate its resources, it always concentrates on a single focal topic for around one year. Most recently, this topic was Digital Futures. In addition, the team creates intragroup partnerships for the topic. After all, Evonik has 33,500 sensors in the markets and the scientific community worldwide, says Theis. We wouldn t be able to function without this network, which continuously incorporates new trends, new perspectives, and additional expertise. Do all of these 33,500 employees worldwide really feel they are part of an innovation culture? And that they are creative, open-minded, curious, focused, and excellent individuals? It s doubtful, and they certainly don t feel that way each and every day. But the more strongly and often they feel this way, the closer Evonik will get to its goal of becoming one of the most innovative companies in the world. Almost half of the people questioned in the aforementioned survey already think that Evonik is this kind of innovative enterprise. (TR)

14 14 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 PEOPLE + EVENTS P E PEOPLE + EVENTS WELL FISHED Since 2001, a saltwater fishing contest has been held in Mobile, Alabama (USA). Each year, several hundred Evonik employees and family members take part. During his U.S. trip, Ralph Sven Kaufmann, COO of Evonik, looked in on this year s event and congratulated the winners, including many children and teenagers corporate security More security on business trips Beginning this fall, Evonik employees will be even safer when they are traveling abroad. The reason is a new service provided by Corporate Security. As soon as employees book a flight, they automatically receive an with information about their destination from risks to current events and specific tips about how to conduct themselves. A special system also makes it easier to quickly locate and contact employees during emergencies. In Japan: Ulrich Boes (2nd from left), Director of New Business Development at Evonik At the cultural festival Extra Shift Night of Industry Culture, about 1,100 visitors enjoyed a breathtaking view of the Marl Chemical Park from a height of approximately 40 meters. From 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. buses traveled right across the chemical park 19 times. On board were culture enthusiasts who wanted to experience the unique industrial charm of the largest Evonik site from up close. The splendid culmination of the 45-minute tour was a view from the highest point of the 6.5-square-kilometer chemical park, whose various illuminated facilities offered a spectacular panorama, especially in the dark. Other stops included a visit to the harbor and tours of Power Plant II and the combined-cycle power station that was started up in the spring. The Extra Shift took place for the 16th time this year. A total of approximately 200,000 people took the opportunity to experience art and culture at 48 venues. (FZ) calostat Delegation evaluates market opportunities in Japan Like construction companies elsewhere, those in Japan are interested in energy-efficient products. That was evident during a trip organized by service provider Ökozentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen. Among those who took part were Barbara Hendricks, German Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety; experts from Evonik; and representatives of other companies. In close cooperation with Nippon AEROSIL and Corporate Innovation, we re evaluating the market opportunities for CALOSTAT in prefabricated house designs in Japan, and we re preparing the market approval, says Bettina Gerharz-Kalte, Head of the growth field Thermal Insulation at Evonik. Photography: Evonik Industries (4), Rolf van Melis, Debo, istock, Dirk Bannert (2) CALOSTAT is a registered trademark of Evonik Industries AG or one of its subsidiaries. It is indicated in capital letters throughout the text.

15 PEOPLE + EVENTS folio 5 / AUGUST DIARY THROUGH THE DAY WITH... Herman Rombouts, Driver at the Evonik plant in Antwerp 9:00 Antwerp (Belgium) is a city with a long history and many historic buildings. The Port of Antwerp, Europe s second-largest seaport, is also home to the second-largest chemical industry cluster in the world and it s also the workplace of Herman Rombouts. 8:00 Shift begins Herman Rombouts begins his workday with a visit to Robin Van Ginneken. Together with the Head of Garage and Rolling Equipment, he discusses the plan for the day. Rombouts and his coworker, Benny Billen, work in shifts so that there is someone on duty almost around the clock. Every day is different, he says. 8:12 Safety first Before he gets started, Rombouts first checks out his car, of course. 9:00 Downtown The first trip takes the Evonik driver to the center of the city. Here he picks up freight documents at the shipping firm Cosco only a few meters away from one of the most prestigious shopping promenades in Europe. Time means money in logistics especially in a bustling commercial center like Antwerp and this is the fastest way to bring the documents to his fellow workers at the site. It is the first of a number of 8:00 8:12 offices that Rombouts stops at today. 11:00 Secret ways Antwerp has just launched an ambitious program to expand and improve its transportation infrastructure. As a result, the streets are almost always congested. With experience and intuition, Rombouts nevertheless usually finds a route used by almost no one else. And if he does get stuck in traffic, he relaxes to music from the 80s and 90s played by radio stations like Nostalgie. I like driving, especially in this nice car, he says. That s also the reason why he switched jobs. Rombouts used to be a driver at the Evonik site, where he transported shipping containers, drove trucks, and operated locomotives. 1:15 Position fixing The new headquarters for the Antwerp Port Authority was designed by the famous firm Zaha Hadid Architects. It will raise Antwerp s commercial and architectural profiles. It s also a good place for Rombouts to plan a new trip, which involves picking up several visitors at the main train station. Robin Van Ginneken had just called to announce the change of plan. You have to be flexible, says Rombouts. 2:00 Containers Europe s second-largest port is growing quickly. So Rombouts route often leads past miles-long rows of shipping containers. 3:15 Delivery Rombouts hands off a stack of documents to Wouter De Wolf, a coworker from the Forwarding Department/Shipping. Approximately two million tons of goods arrive at and leave the Antwerp location every year. 4:30 Methionine Evonik operates eleven production plants at the site. Among them is a 109-hectare building that houses the largest methionine production plant in the world. The site has grown continually ever since it was set up in Today Antwerp is one of Evonik s largest production locations, and it has a workforce of approximately 1,000 employees. One of them, Herman Rombouts, is now done for the day. (AF) 1:15 3:15 4:30 11:00 He knows the city better than almost anyone else: With experience and intuition, Herman Rombouts almost always finds the right route through the streets of Antwerp 2:00 Ute Wolf took part in the opening ceremony of the Shared Financial Services Center for the Asia-Pacific region in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) financial services New office in Malaysia opened Evonik has opened a new Shared Financial Services Center for the Asia-Pacific region in Malaysia. The office is part of Evonik s global network of shared service organizations. At the opening, Chief Financial Officer Ute Wolf commented, Malaysia stands out for its strong economic environment and its talented, multilingual workers. So the country supplies the ideal conditions for our Shared Financial Services Center. The center is located on the grounds of a new Evonik plant in Petaling Jaya in the state of Selangor, along with the Sales and Marketing Office of Evonik Malaysia. Evonik has been operating in Malaysia for many years. This new office will further strengthen our presence and build on our success of recent years, says Peter Meinshausen, Regional President of Evonik SEAANZ. New in Americana WHAT: COUNTRY: SEGMENT: PRODUCT: Production facility Brazil Resource Efficiency Precipitated silicas including highly dispersible silica (HD silica) APPLICATION: Tires, mechanical rubber products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, animal feed MARKETS: Latin America

16 16 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 IT INFRASTRUCTURE IT update REBOOT TO THE FUTURE With the ECS, EPOS, and ACE projects, Global IT & Processes intends to optimize communication within the Group, improve security in printing, and upgrade IT service. Folio explains what the abbreviations stand for and what effects the three projects will have on daily work ECS 1 What does the abbreviation ECS stand for? Evonik Collaboration Suite. 2 What s being done? The introduction of integrated standard solutions from Microsoft for s, Web, video, and audio conferencing, team rooms, and social media for teamwork. 3 What will ECS provide? Smooth communication, transparent knowledge sharing, and uninterrupted access to relevant information anywhere and with any device. This is made possible by a platform with the Microsoft products Outlook, Skype for Business, SharePoint, and Connections in combination with the well-known Microsoft products Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. 4 When does it begin? The Group-wide launch is in September What effects will ECS have on me as an employee? Greater efficiency in collaboration and self-organization. A variety of applications, including those for s, chat, and video, audio, and Web conferencing as well as team rooms will be replaced by Microsoft software. Employees will start out in the system with an empty inbox; access to Lotus Notes is possible as before. Frau Uhlich, with ECS, EPOS, and ACE, you re launching three projects that will fundamentally transform workplaces at Evonik. What do you hope to achieve with the introduction of the new IT tools? The most important objective is to give Evonik employees state-of-the-art workplaces featuring improved functionalities and the ability to collaborate without bounds. We re also fulfilling the requirements of Administration Excellence: We re using IT to modernize work and cutting costs at the same time. The changeover is worth it Bettina Uhlich is Head of Global IT & Processes What triggered this wave of modernization? The general conditions in which companies operate are changing all the time, and the changes in computer usage and how we interact with information technologies are also occurring at ever shorter intervals. The progress of digital technology in our personal lives should become the standard for our professional lives too. Also, the customer-focused service that we offer has to undergo continual improvement. Changeovers to new systems or processes are always a sensitive topic, especially in IT. What, specifically, will change for users at Evonik? Because of the concentration on Microsoft products, we have integrated software solutions available. And for the first time, we can now offer ACE, a global service platform that s accessible around the clock. Of course, we re taking on a major conversion with these new systems, and just like any other major changes, it might involve instances at the beginning when things don t go perfectly smoothly. So I d ask everyone to have a little patience, but I can promise that it s worth it. (MH) 6 What do I have to do? Be open to new things. Some of the applications have to be learned, but they are intuitive and easy to use. They are based on the familiar operations and interfaces of Microsoft products. Another requirement: Be open to a new form of individual work as well as teamwork. The introduction of Evonik Collaboration Suite will be accompanied by a wide range of information offerings, including training and support sessions. The benefits of ECS: a large number of new ways to communicate that are easy to use because of the concentration on Microsoft solutions Gilles Scheurer, Project Manager ECS Photography: Karsten Bootmann, Uwe Feuerbach (2), Evonik Industries Illustrations: C3 Visual Lab

17 IT INFRASTRUCTURE folio 5 / AUGUST ACE 1 What does the abbreviation ACE stand for? Advanced Client Experience. 2 What s being done? An expanded global Service Desk with local on-site support extends and improves the help available to users. 3 What will ACE provide? The new Service Desk is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week in German and English. During normal office hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. the Service Desk can respond to questions in ten additional languages. Evonik will henceforth rely on just one service provider instead of fifteen with a single telephone number per country and global on-site support. Within five years, the Service Desk hopes to resolve any possible problems on the first call in 85 percent of all cases. In the event of more complex problems, it will forward the call to a subject matter specialist without delay. 4 When does it begin? In Europe, the project will start at the end of October The Americas region will follow in mid-december 2016, and the region APAC in mid-february What effects will ACE have on me as an employee? Significantly improved accessibility of the Service Desk as a result of the 24-hour service and, therefore, a faster solution to problems. Employees will also be able to use a helpful smartphone app that always dials the right service number regardless of the location. With a chat feature, Evonik will provide an additional communications channel. The on-site service will remain in effect for all locations, and extra dedicated service shops will be established at major locations. 6 What do I have to do? At the beginning, have patience and be willing to cooperate, because the new service provider will need some time to become familiar with all the particular aspects and features of Evonik. EPOS =) 1 What does the abbreviation EPOS stand for? Evonik Print Optimization Strategy. 2 What s being done? Optimization of printing at the Group: The 9,000 printers and 374 printer models in the Group will be reduced to 6,000 printers of 7 different models. 3 What will EPOS provide? In the future, it will be possible to send print jobs via the network for printing at any multifunctional printer worldwide following authorization using the employee ID including from mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. Printing confidential data will then be possible from anywhere. The print jobs are encrypted when they are saved and sent through the network. The printers supply information about their operational status to a central server. This allows problems to be detected at an early stage. Any maintenance needs are reported, and toner deliveries are initiated automatically. 4 When does it begin? The Group-wide launch is in September What effects will EPOS have on me as an employee? In the future, employees will be able to use any printer in the world without having to set it up. Printing occurs following authorization with the plant ID. Printouts will therefore always end up in the right hands, and confidentiality is assured. 6 What do I have to do? Employees have to set up the new printers in their Windows environment. An easy-to-use utility will be provided for this purpose. BENEFITS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT TOO EPOS not only optimizes printing but also makes it more environmentally friendly. By reducing the number of printers in use, Evonik will save 200,710 kilowatt-hours of energy per year and cut annual CO 2 emissions by 104 metric tons. Improvements resulting from EPOS in the printing habits of employees and the increased use of double-sided printing will also lead to a major reduction of resource consumption. The use of 40 million fewer sheets of paper entails savings of 1.8 million kilowatt-hours of power, 990 metric tons of CO 2 emissions, nine million liters of water, and several thousand trees. Our main concern is improved accessibility especially for our production locations along with a higher first-time fix rate Martin Blumöhr, ACE Project Manager Modern, reliable, and secure everywhere at Evonik. That s what we re aiming for with our new printer strategy Willi Loevenich, EPOS Project Manager

18 18 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 EVONIK + US E U EVONIK + US CAPSIZED BUT STAYED THE COURSE Nothing could hold back the Evonik team at the DBS Marina Regatta Dragon Boat Race in Singapore, not even their boat capsizing. The team got back on their feet and, at the next race, even beat their personal best time on the road WHAT TO ENJOY IN HAMBURG Christian Eger is the Head of Evonik Hanse GmbH in Geesthacht, near Hamburg. Elbe Visitors to Entenwerder get a great view of the Elbe and the harbor and a good cup of coffee on the pontoon at Café Entenwerder 1 into the bargain. Landmark The tower of the Church of St. Michael, or Michel, as the locals say, has a must-see view of the city. You can take an elevator to the top. Or, if you re in the mood for some exercise, you can use the stairs. Sailors Hamburg is a sailors city, and that s why so many people from Portugal live here. Good coffee and tasty Portuguese pastries can be had at Pastelaria Caravela, located at Lange Reihe 13. Harbor For a good first impression of Hamburg Harbor, take the U3 subway train going to City Hall from the central train station. Enjoy a spectacular ride as the train moves out of the subway tunnel and into the light of day, continuing on struts that take it past Rödings - markt and Baumwall to the landing stages of the harbor. Construction Anyone going for a walk in the Hafencity district of Hamburg will pass the Elbphilharmonie at some point. The concert hall won t open until January 2017, but it already looks quite impressive. The Elbphilharmonie is on its way to becoming the new landmark of Hamburg. Art There are interesting modern art exhibitions at Deichtorhallen. The Falckenberg Collection, housed in Phoenix-Hallen, a satellite of Deichtorhallen in Hamburg-Harburg, is not directly in town but worth the trip. For more information, go to At work and enjoying the fresh air. During summer, the outdoor table is a popular spot my favorite place Klaus Albersmann is a chemical technician and works at Customer Services for High Performance Polymers in Marl Lunchtime in Weston. A lot of laughter can be heard during the lunch break in Weston, in the U.S. state of Michigan. At this location, with just over 50 employees, people know each other well ideal conditions for a cheerful and friendly working environment. The site is situated among attractive houses with well-kept gardens and is surrounded by beautiful trees. Lunch, with cool drinks and light food at a roofed-over picnic table in front of the administration building, is a welcome opportunity to take a break in pleasant surroundings. Andrew Henry, George Cleghorn, James Karabinus, Brad Lockwood, and Joe Grisworld (from left) are sitting at a sheltered table, protected on this day from the sun, rather than the rain. (BAU) What I m looking forward to this month This summer the Digital Marketing team at Evonik will be on location during the shooting of the documentary You ll Never Walk Alone. Together with the actor Joachim Król, we have set out to track down the origin of this famous soccer anthem. We have been to Dortmund, Budapest, Vienna, and New York and will fly to Liverpool in August. We encourage people to follow our travels in a blog on the Evonik website at and on Twitter at #EvonikYNWA. Nina Peck from Dialog Services is also on the team, which is headed by Benjamin Kompa from the Brand Communications department. We feature a wide range of topics on our digital channels and always welcome interesting stories about the Group. Katrin Bach is a social media editor at Editorial Services and is part of the Digital Marketing team Keeping active during lunch: It never fails to make my day when I know in the morning that I ll be able to swim my laps in Badeweiher in Marl. Other people may spend their lunch at the cafeteria, but for me, nothing beats swimming as a quick and easy way to relax and get in some exercise too. No swimming pool indoor or outdoor can replace the feeling I get when I m swimming in Badeweiher. Being in nature when the weather is nice clears my mind and energizes me for the rest of the workday. Naturbad am Badeweiher has a swimming lake of 170 by 245 meters, several large lawns for sunbathing, a diving tower, and two wooden boardwalks. There is a separate area for non-swimmers. The children s pool has a small sandy beach. There are several playgrounds, a beach volleyball court, and food stands. Badeweiher is open in the summer from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays on Sundays, and daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. during school vacation. Admission is 1.50 for children and 2.50 for adults. Photography: Evonik Industries, Karsten Bootmann, Debo (3), Rolf van Melis, Adrian Witkowski, Frank Preuß Illustrations: C3 Visual Lab

19 EVONIK + US folio 5 / AUGUST GETTING CREATIVE IDEAS The Global Ideation Jam started in January. The ideas competition, organized by Corporate Innovation, attracted 84 project proposals from employees participating in an online community. Over a period of four months, they then worked in teams to develop their proposals further. At the finals in June, the Entrepreneurship Award was given to the best idea. The winner is Marta Canas-Ventura. Together with her team, she developed BitFlip Ink and has now received a year s time and funding to develop the project and make it a reality. Boot camp Teams were sent to boot camp ahead of the final round. Over the course of three days, they analyzed their ideas in terms of market value, customer benefit, cost, and weaknesses, and also created a business plan A world of ideas International submissions (Number of ideas) Germany USA China UK South Africa Brazil Slovenia Indonesia Singapore Belgium German submissions (Number of ideas) Rheinfelden 26 Marl 4 Frankfurt 1 5 Darmstadt 1 9 Essen Goldschmidtstraße 5 Hanau 4 Essen Campus Geesthacht 55 short quote The Global Ideation Jam is more than an ideas competition. It is part of the culture of innovation at Evonik and a good example of successful cooperation across business segments Ulrich Küsthardt, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) The finals took place at the Zollverein Coal Mine in Essen 399 The COMMENTS WERE POSTED Global Ideation Jam had its worldwide launch on January 18, 2016, under the motto Let your ideas take flight THREE FROM THE TEAM THESE IDEAS MADE IT TO THE FINALS RESOFOOD Intelligent tea packaging for perfect flavor Oxyblock Oxygen-absorbing packaging for longer product lifetimes The Hunger Games Less food waste through a combination of innovative solutions Can business smell? Expanding products to the fourth dimension: smell There s an app for that: An Evonik app for integrated digital service just a tap away Marta Canas-Ventura (Creavis): I m convinced that the idea will be successful, and I want to get started right away THE WINNER BITFLIP INK: INTELLIGENT INK MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO ASSESS PRODUCT QUALITY QUICKLY community members Breaking new ground Chief Innovation Officer Ulrich Küsthardt (center) with Georg Oenbrink and Maren Weiland (Innovation Networks & Communications) from Corporate Innovation. They are promoting innovation processes across the organization and are helping Evonik to achieve its goal of becoming one of the most innovative companies in the world

20 20 folio 5 / AUGUST 2016 EVONIK COMIC CUSTOMER SERVICE Evonik products can be found in countless products we use every day. So it s clear that Evonik must be very familiar with end consumers needs. But it s also nice to work as a mere supplier of the individual ingredients. and now I ve got the shrimp in the frying pan. How much garlic move the left rear tire to the front right, and then take the right rear tire I bought the yogurt last week. On the lid it says my hair always gets so oily in this weather Sascha Dreier drew this comic because Tobi Dahmen is on vacation. No complaints will be accepted. but getting the bird droppings off the hood of my car my wife thinks we should turn the mattress over NOOOO! Ssh, kids Dad had another one of those dreams about working in a call center for all of Evonik s end customers.