Milliken & Company (Milliken), a global material science expert, has made a significant investment in its coating additives laboratory it acquired in 2020 as part of its purchase of Borchers Americas, Inc., in Westlake, Ohio. The acquired business was founded in 1807 as a chemical company but has since grown into a global provider of performance additives for the coatings, inks, and adhesives markets. With the Westlake lab investment, the company now has three state-of-the-art coating additives labs globally, with the others located in Langenfeld, Germany and Shanghai, China (which was also upgraded following the acquisition). The newly transformed lab has an open concept and upgraded equipment. Designed specifically for coating additives lab work, the space is organized to increase efficiency and collaboration. A priority of the remodel was creating an ergonomic work environment that provides a positive, safe atmosphere. Milliken took an associate-first approach to the lab update by asking the laboratory team to lead the remodel, allowing associates to design not only the layout but the aesthetic as well. In addition to workspace redesign, Milliken invested heavily in lab and test equipment along with expanding the team. The addition of equipment, associates and an upgraded layout approximately doubles project capacity, enabling Milliken to further support customers. In the future, Milliken plans to further expand their coating additives labs into other regions such as India and Brazil.
Autor(en): wi
