Innovation Award 2009: Cognis recognizes employees for groundbreaking thinking

02-03-2010: At the end of January, global specialty chemicals supplier Cognis presented its internal Innovation Award for the ninth year. The award recognizes the creative thinking and outstanding achievements of the four winning teams. All of them were responsible for exceptionally innovative and successful projects that improved the sustainability and performance of Cognis’ products and solutions.

The Gold Award went to a team from the Functional Products strategic business unit (SBU) for Emgard FE, a fuel-efficient axle lubricant for heavy-duty trucks. The Silver and Bronze Awards went to two teams from the Care Chemicals SBU. Silver was given to the employees behind Plantapon LGC Sorb, a new environmentally sound anionic surfactant based on alkyl polyglycosides (APG) technology. Bronze went to the developers of a customized Euperlan pearlizer concentrate. Finally, the Special Category Award which was presented for the first time this year was won by a team that implemented a package of measures to improve the ether sulfate production process.

Cognis CEO Antonio Trius presented the winners with their prizes at a gala ceremony. In his speech, he praised the employees’ commitment to Cognis. “Innovation is at the heart of Cognis’ business strategy,” he said. “For us, innovation is all about being quick to identify market needs, and developing appropriate products and solutions that will benefit consumers. It is a way of using our expertise to create commercial value for ourselves and for our customers. The Innovation Award gives public recognition to our employees’ efforts in this area. It highlights how important innovation is to the success of Cognis as a company, and encourages all of our employees to think in creative ways. The number, variety and quality of projects entered for the award this year reflect the strength of our innovation strategy. Cognis has once again proved its ability to generate new ideas and solutions that fit with the wellness and sustainability trends – something that is more important than ever in the tough economic times that we currently face.”