DSM Engineering Plastics, a global supplier of engineering thermoplastic products, has opened a new $5 million research and technology center at its Americas headquarters in Troy.
The center, which will operate as an expansion of the company’s headquarters, located at 203 W. Big Beaver Rd., offers a variety of a range of mechanical testing tools, analytical techniques, testing on aging and chemical resistance materials, physical material testing, and 3D printing capabilities.
“The launch of this new research center is in line with DSM’s strategy to support and grow its business, not only with customers in the U.S., but globally,” says Rein Borggreve, vice president of Research and Technology for DSM Engineering Plastics. “Many of our accounts run global businesses, so we can serve our customers worldwide, with a local footprint.”
He says the company anticipates expanding the center in 2017, as the lab has additional floor space available to allow for increasing capacity of its current testing activities, and for introducing further capabilities, including flammability testing and secondary operations such as plastic welding. DSM Engineering Plastics also plans to add more advanced material-characterization techniques to the facility to support product development.
DSM Engineering Plastics moved to its Troy headquarters from a Birmingham office in January. Along with the new Research and Technology Center, the 31,000-square-foot building, which was converted from a fitness facility, also features and Application Development Center where material testing, automotive plastics, and technology development take place.
The company is owned by Royal DSM, which was founded in 1902 and is based in the Netherlands. Royal DSM, with locations in Europe, China, Japan, India, and North America, and its associated companies deliver annual net sales of more than $11 billion.
