Collaboration — With and for Customers.
Every organization talks about innovation, but a desire to innovate is not the same thing as having a system and structure in place to make it happen. Solenis’ innovation efforts are consistently directed towards expanding our product portfolio and leveraging cutting-edge water treatment and hygiene solutions.
To ensure we take an outside-in view of innovation, we align our efforts with key global megatrends, such as climate change, water scarcity and infectious disease control, where we believe our technological expertise can have a significant impact. Because many of these trends have emerged out of far-reaching societal and environmental concerns, we prioritize sustainability initiatives above others. In fact, nearly every new product introduction delivers sustainability benefits across categories like circularity and waste reduction, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction, water and resource efficiency and sustainable chemistry.
Filling the Funnel
Almost all innovation at Solenis arises from customer needs. We rely on direct feedback from our commercial and technical service teams, which is curated in an ideation platform. New product concepts are continuously generated, refreshed and prioritized through ongoing meetings with customers, employing a formal New Product Blueprinting process. Blueprinting is a systematic approach to qualifying new-to-the-world (NTW) projects, involving in-depth interviews with multiple customers to quantify and prioritize their needs, ensuring our innovations truly bring value.
Once a project has been identified, our R&D organization takes one of three approaches to bring a solution to the market:
Internal R&D:
Working in our global research facilities, Solenis scientists utilize best-in-class chemistry to develop, refine and extend our portfolio of products. Many technologies that have revolutionized the industries we serve — e.g., SafePack™ pouches, Kymene™ wet-strength resins, Oxivir™ disinfectant cleaners, and ClearPointSM biofilm detection and control — were born in Solenis laboratories, where customer need evolved from concept to commercialized product.
External Collaboration:
We actively seek out and collaborate with industry and university partners on joint, open innovation programs. For example, Diversey partnered with Slimstones B.V. to develop and launch LESSEAU™, a unique dispensing and solid soap hand-wash system using patented technology. Notably, over 75% of inquiries to our External Technology team focus on sustainability-related technologies.
Strategic Acquisition:
Sometimes, other companies offer complementary solutions, often filling a specific gap or occupying a niche that makes them attractive as an acquisition opportunity. Solenis constantly surveys the landscape in search of strategic acquisitions to strengthen our product offering or expand our capabilities. Recent acquisitions such as Neu Kimya, CedarChem LLC, Lilleborg, AquaChempacs and Predictive Food Safety Solutions are prime examples of broadening our best-in-class product and solutions portfolio.
