Covestro LLC recently announced an investment of more than $40 million on a series of modernization and technical upgrades across its nine-building headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
As a leading supplier of high-quality polymers, Covestro has called its Pittsburgh campus home since 1958. The site, which employs approximately 700 people, functions as the business headquarters for the North American region and is one of Covestro’s three global research and development (R&D) hubs. The others are in Leverkusen, Germany, and Shanghai, China.
“We are committed to the U.S. market as a whole and to Pittsburgh as our North American headquarters,” says Samir Hifri, chairman and president of Covestro LLC. “These enhancements to our headquarters and R&D facilities set the stage for long-term growth.”
According to the company, these investments will:
- Renovate existing polyurethane R&D facilities to create new state-of-the-art laboratories;
- Upgrade equipment and machinery to better serve customers in key industries, such as automotive and construction;
- Refresh the campus look and feel in line with the company’s stated purpose of making the world a brighter place;
- Modernize office facilities to strengthen the group’s collaboration and workplace culture.
“This represents the largest R&D investment in our facilities in Pittsburgh for decades,” says Anna Clark-Emerick, Pittsburgh site manager. “We recognize that our employees and our customers are two of our most important stakeholders, and, through this investment, we can positively impact both.”
Given that the construction industry represents almost 20% of Covestro’s business, the company says it was able to incorporate its own materials and its customers’ products in many aspects of the campus retrofit. This includes roofing insulation, interior and exterior paints, and more.
“We consistently see our customers creating the most innovative and sustainable products in their fields, and it is incumbent upon Covestro to make sure we lead the way in the materials sector to help ensure our customers’ success,” Hifri says. “One way we will support our customers is through achieving our own ambitious sustainability goals and our vision to become fully circular, and the investments we are marking in Pittsburgh will help us reach those targets.”
The current phase of improvements to Covestro’s North American headquarters are expected to be by 2026.
Source: Covestro, www.covestro.com.