RadiciGroup has announced the founding of Radici InNova, a non-profit consortium, to carry out the group’s strategic aims of ensuring business continuity, improving corporate competitiveness and creating value for the community. The new company’s main objective is the development of new research and innovation projects for the chemical, high performance polymers and advanced textile solutions sectors, in accordance with the RadiciGroup sustainability strategy.

Indeed, Radici InNova renews and strengthens RadiciGroup’s commitment to a development model that balances economic profitability with environmental sustainability and social equity, Radici said today in a statement.

The new company will take advantage of and improve the synergies of the R&D activities that have long been carried on by the RadiciGroup Specialty Chemicals, High Performance Polymers and Advanced Textile Solutions Business Areas, the company said.

“The formation of Radici InNova represents an important milestone for the whole Group on its path towards innovation, which was started many years ago,” Angelo Radici, president of RadiciGroup, said.

“In fact, during the years, innovation has been a key element that distinguishes us and enables us to expand into a variety of sectors and supply the market with competitive, cutting-edge products and solutions. By sharing the know-how and the competencies of the various Group business areas, it will be possible to develop integrated advanced research projects, in accordance with our sustainability strategy and inspired by the principles of environmental protection and the circular economy, ensuring constant growth and a better future for generations to come."

By leveraging internal competencies and targeted relationships with third parties, Radici InNova will manage and coordinate all the group’s strategically essential research activities, with the objective of strengthening the role of innovation as a driver of RadiciGroup development. Furthermore, the new company will actively foster the continual improvement of products and processes, while optimizing the use of resources and lowering the environmental impact of its activities.

Specifically, Radici InNova research activities will be focused on five macro areas:

1.Development of polymers obtained from bio-source materials and thus featuring reduced environmental impact, for use in diverse sectors such as automotive and apparel

2.Production of chemical intermediates derived from natural sources to be used for producing nylon, polyester and polyurethane, which will be utilized, in turn, as materials for the manufacture of a wide range of everyday products

3.Development of circular economy solutions, with the goal of extending product useful life as much as possible through end-of-life recycling (eco-design)

4.New business opportunities for RadiciGroup products, including already existing ones, such as nonwovens. During the pandemic lockdown, group nonwovens became the base ingredient for the creation of a new Made-in-Italy production chain dedicated to the very timely manufacturing of gowns and face masks, to help the public health system cope with the health crisis

5.Optimization of industrial processes, in the direction of ever greater sustainability and improved performance.

Today more than ever, Radici says, considering the very delicate phase the world is experiencing and the need to revive the economy, it is crucial to come up with an innovative industrial system capable of seizing any opportunity arising from sudden changes and providing quick sustainable solutions, so as to stay competitive. To do this, all the actors engaged in research and development need to be encouraged to dialogue continuously and integrate heterogeneous experiences and competencies, the company adds.

“Radici InNova will work in close collaboration with public and private research centres, universities and Group customers and suppliers,” Stefano Alini, head of the new company, pointed out. “Particularly at this stage, our goal is to contribute proactively to the restart of our industry through innovation and sustainability, two pillars of our Group vision.”

RadiciGroup, with approximately 3,100 employees, sales revenue of EUR 1,092 million in 2019 and a network of production and sales sites located throughout Europe, North America, South America and Asia, RadiciGroup is one of the world’s leading producers of a wide range of chemical intermediates, polyamide polymers, high performance engineering polymers and advanced textile solutions, including nylon yarn, polyester yarn, yarn made from recovered and bio-source materials, nonwovens and personal protective equipment for the healthcare field.

www.radicigroup.com