Innovations Award 2008

From left to right: Dr. Gerald Kirchner, Frank Kother, Michaela Vorderwülbeke, Mathis Kuleßa, Petra Beier, Albert Frank, Manfred Knospe, Dr. Jürgen Omeis. Absent from photo: Petra Della Valentina.

The “BYK Advance” innovation award for 2008 was awarded to a project team that demonstrated particular dedication in developing a technologically demanding product: the surface additive BYK®-SILCLEAN 3720.

The project team was faced with the challenge of developing a product that performs like BYK®-SILCLEAN 3700 – but can be used in water-based systems.
This project was extremely complex. In a first step, more than 100 substances were tested. When success proved elusive, the team decided to take an entirely new approach. This decision was immediately rewarded with promising starting points, which ultimately led to a new chemical structure that is compatible with water-based systems. After five long years of work, the team succeeded in turning the idea into a new product.

This achievement demonstrates once again that it often takes a team to produce innovative solutions.