Grace Opens New Innovation Center in Poland

COLUMBIA, Md.--W. R. Grace & Co. is expanding its R&D capabilities in Europe with the official grand opening of an innovation center in Poznan, Poland today. The celebration includes speeches by local government and university officials and business executives, a tour of the facility and a press conference.

The facility is currently staffed by nine Ph.D. scientists that are developing new technology platforms and products for customers in the construction and packaging industries. The center is fully integrated into the global Grace R&D community.

Grace President & CEO Fred Festa, remarked, “The opening of this center represents an increased focus on innovation for our company. Unique and innovative products are the key source of our competitive advantage and enable us to be market leaders and important partners for our customers. The investment in innovation is imperative for our future successes and growth.”

Grace has been a member of the Polish business community for 15 years. The first representative office was opened in 1992 in Warsaw with a second location following in Poznan in 1998. Over the years, the Grace organization in Poland has increased, with staff in the country now responsible for activity in the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), Ukraine, Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Poznan lab joins a commercial office already located in Poznan and is part of a continuing effort to provide more resources closer to customers throughout Central Europe. The lab is the most recent addition to Grace’s network in Europe that includes manufacturing facilities, labs and administrative offices in more than a dozen countries.

Festa continued, “Our activities in Poland and the surrounding countries are important to our overall success in Europe, with revenues from the region surpassing $1 billion in 2006.”

The lab is located in the newly constructed Poznan Science and Technology Park run by The Foundation of Adam Mickiewicz University. Its address is: Grace Sp.z o.o. ul. Rubiez 46, Poznan 61-612, Poland. The phone number is +48 61-8276871. The fax number is +48 61-8220063.