Diversity drives our innovation process

The mission of our more than 500 highly qualified scientists  worldwide is to constantly challenge the status quo and push the boundaries of our knowledge and areas of expertise. They are the true illustration of our “go beyond” spirit.

Mainly located in our two global innovation centers in Belgium and in China, they are a very diverse group in terms of culture and skills. This diversity is what makes their strength and success. By collaborating with colleagues across different areas of our business, as well as with customers and other partners, they reveal unmet material properties, discover new applications for those materials, and create new perspectives for our customers.

We think big

… and yet can create very small. Our thinnest metal fiber is about 1/80 of a human hair and is used for filtration purposes. Other products are impressively big and strong: our steel ropes used in the Oil & Gas industry can reach a diameter of 170mm and our synthetic ropes used for mooring have a diameter of 350mm.

In between, there is an immense field of play, and we investigate every innovation corner. There are thousands of products in our catalog, growing every day.

500

R&D specialists worldwide

1900

Patents rights in portfolio

21

first patent filings in 2021

85%

of R&D programs targeting distinct sustainability benefits