"The establishment of plastics and polymer sciences at JKU has been achieved at a pace unparalleled in international higher education. This illustrates just how much is possible when determined and dedicated partners like Borealis, JKU and the province of Upper Austria team up to pursue common goals," Doris Hummer concludes.
The biggest location within the worldwide Borealis Group is in fact Linz, where approximately 1,250 employees from around 50 different countries are dedicated to producing cutting-edge plastics solutions. In 2009, Borealis opened its global research and development centre, the
Innovation Headquarters (IHQ) in Linz. Over 450 international experts from over 30 nations work at IHQ Linz in an effort to transform innovative ideas into market-ready success stories. Focus lies on plastics solutions for infrastructure (pipe systems, energy and communication cables), automotive and advanced packaging industries.
Schwechat: one of the most important plastics production facilities in Europe
Schwechat, near Vienna, is the second major Borealis location in Austria. Here, production is limited to that of so-called polyolefins, e.g. plastics which are meltable and ultimately formable once a certain temperature range has been reached. Around a million tonnes of polyolefins are manufactured each year at Borealis, and the Schwechat plant is in fact one of Europe's most modern and important plastics production facilities. In total, around 550 people work in Schwechat in the departments of production, health, safety and the environment, maintenance, procurement, finance and controlling, quality control, logistics, human resources and legal.
The Borealis Sirius catalyst technology is at the forefront of polyolefin technology thanks to its outstanding performance and its many advantages in terms of sustainability. Developed by Borealis, the proprietary technology Sirius makes it possible to produce chemical substances – so-called catalysts – with novel properties and in a significantly more efficient way than with conventional technologies. Catalysts determine to a great extent the properties of a final product, for example plasticity, elasticity, or rigidity. Thanks to the high degree of innovation found in this product, the Borealis Sirius catalyst technology is protected by 60 international patents.
