BASF currently has 9,600 employees engaged in R&D work.
Showing posts with label spend. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spend. Show all posts
Friday, 4 February 2011
BASF boosts innovation spend
News released today shows BASF, the world's biggest chemical company, increased its research and development (R&D) spend in 2010 to a record level of nearly €1.5bn ($2.1bn). Spending will be even higher in 2011, it added. In 2009, the company spent €1.40bn on R&D, up from €1.35bn in 2008, and had an R&D to sales ratio of 2.76%.
“The company attaches great importance to continuity in R&D and has further increased its commitment even in tough times,” said Andreas Kreimeyer, research executive director and member of BASF's board of executive directors. “Research and development are the foundations to secure our future. BASF will therefore also be increasing its R&D spending in 2011."
BASF currently has 9,600 employees engaged in R&D work.
BASF currently has 9,600 employees engaged in R&D work.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
SABIC boosts innovation spend
Saudi Arabia's petrochemicals and polymers giant SABIC is looking to move further into downstream products in the Kingdom as access to cheap ethane feedstock wanes. To support the drive, which includes it looking at investments in polyurethanes, polyamide and other new materials, it will be stepping up its spend on inhouse innovation.
Over the next few years, spending on R&D will grow to more than 2% of sales from the 1% level currently budgeted, according to Abdulrahman al-Ubaid, executive vice president of technology and innovation, speaking to a Bloomberg reporter recently. The story notes that SABIC is building large R&D centres in India, China and Saudi Arabia.
SABIC reported sales of Riyal150bn ($40bn) last year, suggesting innovation spend will rise to over $800m shortly. In its latest report the company indicated it spent $140m on technology and innovation in 2009.
To put that spend into proportion, here are the 2009 R&D spend figures for the top chemical companies, as listed in ICIS's Top 100 companies:
Company Spend, $m As % of sales
BASF 2,004 2.76
Dow Chemical 1,492 3.32
LyondellBasell 145 0.47
SABIC 140 0.51
Mitsubishi Chem 1,477 5.44
DuPont 1,378 5.27
INEOS 85 0.34
Bayer 1,289 5.92
SABIC has indicated its plans to move downstream several times to me recently, first at the 2010 K plastics show in Dusseldorf, where I interviewed vice president and CEO Mohamed al-Mady, and again at the ICIS/Booz & Company petrochemicals roundtable in Frankfurt, in which SABIC's executive vice president for corporate strategy and planning, Abdulla Bazid took part.
In 2009, in recognition of innovation’s key role in driving rapid growth, boosting market share and enhancing corporate positioning, SABIC created its Technology and Innovation (T&I) unit as a single, unified global organization, fully aligned with its research and development plans. Technology departments were created within strategic business units and all SABIC technology centers were linked via a virtual network.
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| al_Ubaid is driving innovation harder at SABIC |
SABIC reported sales of Riyal150bn ($40bn) last year, suggesting innovation spend will rise to over $800m shortly. In its latest report the company indicated it spent $140m on technology and innovation in 2009.
To put that spend into proportion, here are the 2009 R&D spend figures for the top chemical companies, as listed in ICIS's Top 100 companies:
Company Spend, $m As % of sales
BASF 2,004 2.76
Dow Chemical 1,492 3.32
LyondellBasell 145 0.47
SABIC 140 0.51
Mitsubishi Chem 1,477 5.44
DuPont 1,378 5.27
INEOS 85 0.34
Bayer 1,289 5.92
SABIC has indicated its plans to move downstream several times to me recently, first at the 2010 K plastics show in Dusseldorf, where I interviewed vice president and CEO Mohamed al-Mady, and again at the ICIS/Booz & Company petrochemicals roundtable in Frankfurt, in which SABIC's executive vice president for corporate strategy and planning, Abdulla Bazid took part.
In 2009, in recognition of innovation’s key role in driving rapid growth, boosting market share and enhancing corporate positioning, SABIC created its Technology and Innovation (T&I) unit as a single, unified global organization, fully aligned with its research and development plans. Technology departments were created within strategic business units and all SABIC technology centers were linked via a virtual network.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Chemicals innovation spend holds up
Some positive news on innovation spend came my way recently. Anecdotal reports that chemical companies protected spending on innovation through the downturn were confirmed by the annual Booz & Company survey of the Top 1,000 corporate spenders on R&D.
It found that, for 2009 compared to 2008, the top publicly-listed chemical and energy sector spenders on R&D increased spend by just over 1% to $36.6bn. Healthcare, the second largest spending sector, after computing and electronics, also saw R&D spend slightly increase by $1.6bn to $113bn. Note, however, that revenues in this sector increased by 6%.
In contrast, innovation spending by the top automotive, computing/electronics and broad industrial companies was down sharply.
The top chemical industry spenders were:
It found that, for 2009 compared to 2008, the top publicly-listed chemical and energy sector spenders on R&D increased spend by just over 1% to $36.6bn. Healthcare, the second largest spending sector, after computing and electronics, also saw R&D spend slightly increase by $1.6bn to $113bn. Note, however, that revenues in this sector increased by 6%.
In contrast, innovation spending by the top automotive, computing/electronics and broad industrial companies was down sharply.
The top chemical industry spenders were:
Rank 2010 Company R&D spend 2009, $m
29 Bayer 3,829.1
60 BASF 1,949.4
73 Dow Chemical 1,492.0
75 Mitsubishi Chemical 1,475.9
81 DuPont 1,378.0
86 Sumitomo Chemical 1,264.9
96 Monsanto 1,098.0
108 Syngenta 960.0
136 Solvay 773.9
153 Asahi Kasei 678.6
Source: Booz & Company
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