THE FUTURE, - Solvay

SPECIAL ISSUE
Solvay Innovation Trophy 2009
THE FUTURE,
A QUESTION
OF INNOVATION
THE
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
OF THE SOLVAY
GROUP
No257
JULY 2009

The innovation network:
The players and their mission
11
CONTENT > Innovation Special - JULY 2009
The Solvay S.A. International Magazine – 71st year – July 2009 – Published by Solvay S.A. – Competence Centre Communication – Rue du Prince Albert 33, B-1050 Brussels – Tel.: +32.2.509.64.48 – Fax: +32.2.509.72.40 –
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and translation: Izicom, Comfi , Michael Lomax, Production – Printing: Deckers Druk nv – Photos: Jelle Vermeersch, Dansel Zielonka, AGC Flat Glass Europe, DuPont, Klabin, Henry Chesbrough, R.A. Mashelkar, Michel
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2
MOVING FORWARD
3 Editorial
Group > Panorama
4 SIT 2006 projects
6 New Business Development:
our exploration module
8 The innovation network
Report > Innovation elsewhere
10 Klabin / AGC Glass /
Dr. Henry Chesbrough / DuPont /
Dr. R.A. Mashelkar
08
New Business
Development:
our exploration
module
In our company,
15
everyone is an inventor
INNOVATION 09
Interview
16 The crisis? A call for
innovation
17 The jury
DOSSIER
18 SIT 2009
06
INNOVATION09
THE FUTURE, A QUESTION OF INNOVATION
THE SIT 2009 PROJECTS
01. New business
02. Customer oriented projects
03. Performance improvement
04. Management improvement
05. Sustainable development and
citizenship
06. Replicated innovations

“We are
convinced that
our technologies
will contribute
effectively
to sustainable
development.”
The impressive
inventory of our future
F or
me, this 257 th issue of Solvay live
is particularly important as an
expression of the commitment to
innovation that drives our Group.
Let me welcome the infl ux of innovative
projects submitted to the
panel of judges, which now has the diffi cult task
of designating the winners of the Solvay Innovation
Trophy 2009. You have again demonstrated
vitality and enthusiasm in all areas of our Group’s
activities.
Your commitment confirms my trust in our
ability to overcome the crisis currently affecting
the global economy. I am confi dent: Solvay has
a sound fi nancial position and good products,
which the market needs. We also know how to
innovate and to fi nd new ways of creating value.
The number of new projects you have submitted
for this year’s innovation trophy demonstrates
this, and lends credence to your skills and your
motivation.
You bring innovation to life in all its facets dear
to the Group – also fi ttingly represented by the
unifying symbol of Solar Impulse. We are coming
up with answers to major challenges. We are
encouraging exchanges and partnerships both
inside the Group and with the outside world.
And fi nally, we are convinced that our technologies
will contribute effectively to sustainable
development.
This issue of Solvay live gives a comprehensive
picture of innovation within the Group. It
presents the testimony of those promoting it on
Christian Jourquin
Chief Executive Offi cer
EDITORIAL
a daily basis, an overview of the pioneering activities
of our New Business Development, and
viewpoints from active players and external
experts. And, last but not least, we publish
summaries of the hundred projects that the
various Group entities have preselected for
the SIT 2009. The list is impressive and the
winners will be all the more deserving.
Let the best team win!
Solvay live - JULY 2009 - 3
Solar Impulse,
the solar energy
propelled airplane.

4
GROUP > Panorama
TECNOFLON ® PFR NANOCOMPOSITE – SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
New high-purity
applications and new markets
The
IMPROVED SAFETY AT DOMBASLE – SBU SODA ASH
Subcontractors and safety managers
The project consists of heavily
involving subcontractors in site
safety in order to reduce the
number of accidents. The 2006
Trophy has had a very positive
effect in terms of recognition
and motivation: the number
A new grade of fl uoroelastomer nanocomposite Tecnofl on NFT ® has been
developed for semiconductors since the SIT 2006, as well as two
other grades for new applications. First, an innovative solution
for automotive hoses: thanks to its very low permeability to fuel,
a single layer of the Solvay nanocomposite is suffi cient, instead
of two until now. This solution has proved very successful
in Asia. Second, compounds with excellent mechanical
properties for the oil / gas industries are entering the marketing
stage. Finally, the R&D team is continuing to develop
the full potential of nanocomposite technology, to ensure
that Tecnofl on ® retains its position as the best product on
the market.
SIT 2006 projects
WHAT HAS BECOME OF THE WINNING PROJECTS OF THE SOLVAY
INNOVATION TROPHY 2006? A RAPID OVERVIEW, THREE YEARS ON.
of external participants has
increased (currently 10),
and the safety issues
highlighted every quarter have
gained visibility with the
creation of a fun day. Thanks to
these various initiatives, the
site’s safety record is more
than satisfactory: two accidents
with work stoppage in 2006,
only one since. The idea has
been transposed to Tavaux
(France) and is also being
studied at Rosignano (Italy).
SIFREN ® 46 GAS – SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
Nec plus ultra for
plasma engraving
Sifren ® 46 fl uorocarbon gas rewarded in 2006
is excellent for plasma etching of the ultra thin
integrated circuits found in memories. In addition it
forms a protective polymer layer on silicon wafers
(allowing the manufacturing of smaller devices) and
has a low environmental impact. The crisis that is
severely affecting the electronics industry is
negatively impacting sales, while competition from
new Asian producers of perfl uorobutadiene –
the chemical name of Sifren ® 46 – is making itself
felt. Faced with this situation, the SBU’s strategy is
to supply end-users directly (Intel, Samsung, etc.)
and to offer them even greater purity through the
development, to be announced shortly, of a new
99.9% pure grade – N3.0 in electronics jargon –
as against 99.6% today.
PARTNERSHIPS FOR BICARBONATE – SBU SODA ASH
Bicar ® for well-being
At the time of the 2006 Trophy, the project consisted
of four external cooperation programs to promote
sodium bicarbonate through a series of products related
to personal hygiene and protection against animal and
plant nuisances. Bicar P, a bicarbonate-based anti-lice
product, was launched in 2007 in partnership with Mavi,
a leading Italian skin care and cosmetics company, while
the development of Bi-Protec, to protect stored grain,
continues with Souffl et. The other two programs have
been replaced by new ideas that are being developed
with various partners: Isagro (Bi-Protec for protecting
silos), Biotop (mineral barrier against ants) and
Graine d’Affaires (protection of natural insulation
materials against insects and fungi).
N

ERS
SODA ASH
ng
NANOPARTICLES AT THE HEART OF PVDC – SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
Project reframed
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF BIODIESEL – SBU EDS
Standing f irm
in the face of uncertainty
Epicerol ® is a revolutionary ‘green’
process that can convert glycerin
(a by-product of biodiesel) into
epichlorohydrin, a product previously
obtained at Solvay from propylene
(a hydrocarbon). As planned,
a production unit started in 2007
at the Tavaux (France) site. After a
year of trials and improvements,
industrial production was fi nally fully
Since 2006, two new PVDC latexes, using acrylic
nanoparticles as polymerization seed, have been
brought to market and are currently being tested
by customers. The fi rst (DIOFAN ® SUPER B)
enhances the water vapor and oxygen barrier
of pharmaceutical blister packs, which
are PVDC’s fl agship market.
The second (DIOFAN ® Since 2006, two new PVDC latexes, using acrylic
nanoparticles as polymerization seed, have been
brought to market and are currently being tested
by customers. The fi rst (DIOFAN
enhances the water vapor and oxygen barrier
P 510) is a new grade
for water-based anti-corrosion paints.
The project, initially based on the
production of nanoparticles ex situ,
has been extended to nanoseeding
in situ, i.e. performed in the same
reactor as the polymerization
of the PVDC, thereby limiting the equipment to a single reactor.
The ex ex ex ex situ situ situ situ technique is retained when the PVDC has to be given
special properties (thermal stability, UV-resistance).
mastered. The project team was also
confronted with the slower-thanexpected
development of biodiesel, a
temporary hike in the price of glycerin
and a contraction in demand for
epichlorhydrin. In short, it had to manage
a lot of uncertainty! The project remains
nonetheless strategic for the Group
and there are plans to build a production
unit at Map Ta Phut (Thailand).
GROUP > Panorama
GREEN CHEMISTRY FOR TAB – SBU PEROXIDES
Environmental jackpot
“ESSENTIALITY OF CHEMICALS” – CC COM & PA
Promoting understanding
and dialogue
The project objective in 2006 was to establish, at European level, a calm
and unemotional dialogue with certain of our stakeholders in order
to demonstrate to them the essential role of chemicals in biology and toxicology.
Several thematic events (fertility, risks ...) including three in 2008 have served
to bring together scientists, policymakers, NGOs and journalists. This year
the project is being continued via partner associations, but there are plans
to relaunch it after the crisis with larger-scale events.
Solvay is the world’s leading producer
of hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) and its derivatives,
thanks to its so-called ‘high productivity’
manufacturing process. Tert-amyl benzene
(TAB), a crucial intermediate in its production,
was the weak link in the chain because of its
energy-guzzling and environmentally-unfriendly
synthesis process.
In 2006, the Group built and started up
a new tert-amyl benzene production unit
at Jemeppe-sur-Sambre (Belgium), based
on an innovative manufacturing process.
Energy consumption has slashed by a factor
of 40 and the amount of waste by 80.
On top of this, the emergence of new high
added-value applications, such as lithium
batteries, could permit a future expansion
of the project.
Solvay live - JULY 2009 - 5

New Business Development:
our exploration
module
Flexible revolution
Eminent scientists of the twentieth century saw their existence
as unlikely. And yet! After more than thirty years of research,
oligomeric and polymeric semiconductors and
conductors of electricity exist today that combine the electrical
properties of metals (semiconductors) with the mechanical
properties as plastics. This is the area we now call
‘organic electronics’.
INITIAL APPLICATIONS
Organic chemistry offers materials that can be deposited on
large surfaces by various techniques such as inkjet printing.
The support can be fl exible, leading us to speak of plastic or
fl exible electronics.
Light surfaces
GROUP > Panorama
A transparent anode is placed on top of a
transparent substrate, followed by several
organic layers and a cathode. Subjected to an
electrical current, the combination of organic
layers emits a photon (unit of light). The
electrical energy is transformed in this
way into light energy that can be
generated, no longer in a point (as in
an inorganic LED, which remains
limited in size) but over an
entire surface.
6
Jean-Luc Bredas of the Georgia Institute of Technology reported
on these applications at a recent lecture at Solvay NOH
(Belgium). “One of the fi rst applications of organic electronics
is by Kodak, which has used a thin fi lm composed of organic
light-emitting molecules for a multi-chrome digital camera
screen. Philips has also equipped an electric shaver with a
small monochrome screen based on a thin polymer film,
which displays the state of battery charge. Several models of
touchscreen mobile phones equipped with OLED displays will
be hitting markets in 2009. Finally, for more than a year now
Sony Sony has has been been selling selling the the fi fi rst rst OLED OLED television television
screen. screen. It It is is still still small small (11 (11 inches), inches),
but but picture picture quality quality
FLEXIBLE DISPLAYS, RADIO CHIPS, LUMINESCENT
SURFACES, LIQUID ELECTRODES, CO 2 -EATING
MICRO-ALGAE ... ALL THESE FUTURISTIC
APPLICATIONS, CURRENTLY BEING EXPLORED BY
THE NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS, COULD
BECOME NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
FOR SOLVAY.
THE ORGANIC ELECTRONICS MARKET IS PROJECTED TO BE WORTH TENS
OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BY 2015.
is remarkable. All manufacturers are seeking to improve the
properties of these new screens, which one day you will be
able to roll up and slip into your pocket.”
Another application of OLED technology is lighting. If one can
produce light from energy, the reverse phenomenon is also
possible: in this way solar panels are also part of organic
chemistry. Finally people are now talking of flexible RFID
chips that respond to radio waves and transmit information
remotely. This is a product that will compete with bar codes,
if we succeed in lowering its cost of production.

NS
Micro-algae for capturing CO 2
CO 2 , BIOFUEL ... THE POTENTIAL OF MICRO-ALGAE IS SEDUCTIVE AND FITS PERFECTLY WITH THE NEW
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
Micro-algae attract lots of attention
today, including Solvay’s! Antoine
Amory, CC Advanced Technologies,
who heads up the ‘micro-algae’
working group on the green chemistry
platform: “These micro-organisms
have enormous potential! More than
their use to produce biofuel, it is their
ability to absorb CO2 through
photosynthesis which Solvay is
interested in. If one day we are going
to be taxed on our CO2 emissions, it
is important to limit them. Micro-algae
are very prolific, sometimes thirty
times more than the average for other
New international
partnership
Solvay has launched a Global Discovery Program
with fi ve partners: the Georgia Institute of
Technology (Center for Organic Photonics and
Electronics), Princeton University (New Jersey)
and the University of Washington (Seattle)
in the United States, Imperial College London
(UK) and the Institute of Chemistry of
the Chinese Academy of Sciences
in Beijing (China). The main area of
research is organic transistors
(soft chips), along with research
into organic photovoltaic cells
(fl exible solar panels).
plants. Micro-algae can be also
grown on arid land, which means they
don’t compete with food crops.”
OBSERVE AND EVALUATE
For the moment, Solvay is keeping a
close watch on research in this area.
“The current problem of micro-algae
is the exploitation technology, and
especially its cost. Today, we are
interested in start-ups that are
seeking solutions to the problem, for
example by simultaneously taking
advantage of the capabilities of algae
to both absorb CO2 and to purify
Solvay has invested EUR 1.49 million
in ACAL Energy, a British company
founded in 2004, which is proposing
to replace the platinum cathode in fuel
cells by its own liquid electrolytes,
which are cheaper, more reliable and
last longer. This technology
breakthough, called FlowCath R,
GROUP > Panorama
water. And if their project looks to us
to be scientifically and financially
feasible, we could end up concluding
a research partnership.” Nor is a
project that is not exploitable today
necessarily condemned to oblivion.
“We are working with medium and
long term horizons”, says Antoine
Amory. “What is not viable today may
be tomorrow. Because technology
and market conditions change, and
also because Solvay could, why not,
one day supplement its portfolio with
products manufactured from essentially
renewable raw materials.”
Breakthrough innovation
in fuel cells
SOLVAY IS INVESTING IN A BRITISH COMPANY WHICH HAS DEVELOPED
TECHNOLOGY THAT REDUCES THE USE OF PRECIOUS METALS IN
CATALYSTS.
signifi cantly reduces the cost of fuel
cells and will therefore accelerate their
deployment on the market. For
Leopold Demiddeleer, who heads up
‘Future Businesses’ at Solvay, “this
investment is in line with our strategy
of maximizing the value of our
SolviCore joint venture, which could
adjust its offering of membrane
electrode assemblies to include this
technology breakthrough if it proves a
winner.” ACAL Energy intends to
present this year a demonstration fuel
cell producing 1 kW of energy,
enabling it to target the stationary
micro-residential market.
Solvay live - JULY 2009 - 7

8
GROUP > Panorama
The innovation network: The players and their mis
INTERVIEW WITH BRIGITTE LAURENT, GROUP INNOVATION CHAMPION.
Solvay live – How widespread is
innovation at Solvay?
Brigitte Laurent – Realizing the
strategic role of innovation for growth
and competitiveness, Solvay boosted
its innovation thrust in the early 2000s.
Today Innovation encompasses all our
activities without exception. Let me
quote certain Group-level initiatives:
the three challenges set out in 2006
(30% of income from projects under
fi ve years old, 50% of projects in
partnership, 100% of ideas, that is an
average of one innovative idea per
employee per year), the Innovation
scorecard (which measures the
progress of innovation), electronic
ideas boxes and their ‘challenge’
function (focusing creativity on solving
a specifi c problem), the annual
innovation objective for all executive
staff, the dissemination of good
practices, and of course the Solvay
Innovation Trophy!
“The Innovation Champions
play a catalyst role in their
organizations, amplifying
the dynamism of the Group
Trophy through local
initiatives.”
SL – What is the role of Innovation
Champions (IC)?
B. L. – The IC network was set up in 2004.
It refl ects the organization of the Group,
with one representative from each SBU,
CC and BSC, appointed by the manager
of the entity. We are about 35 in number,
but in reality the innovation network is
much more tightly meshed because most
ICs have developed their own networks.
The ICs’ role is fi rst and foremost to
create and encourage a spirit of
innovation, to share information and key
initiatives, to play a catalyst role in their >

organizations for all innovative initiatives,
to help measure progress and to work
closely with the network. Specifi cally as
regards the Solvay Innovation Trophy, the
ICs promote the competition and help
select the projects proposed by their
entities.
Today, they are even more present in the
fi eld and work closely with their
managements. Some have a full-time IC
eir mission
role, in charge of encouraging ideas and
transforming them into projects, in
collaboration with marketing teams or
R&D or even external partners
(universities, customers, suppliers etc.).
SL – What is the Solvay Innovation
Trophy 2009 going to look like?
B. L. – The main theme for this 5th
edition is sustainable development. We
were also keen to include the crisis
context by asking teams to refl ect on the
principle of resilience by assessing how
their project can cope with uncertainty
and rapid change (in terms of planning,
resources, partners etc.).
Each trophy, we set the bar a little higher
in terms of project quality. We want to
reward those projects that are of
strategic importance for the
development of the Group and which are
its showcase from the viewpoint of
innovation.
The ICs are intimately connected with
the success of SIT 2009: their support is
more than ever essential in these
challenging times. Thank you to all of
them!
We give the fl oor to a few Innovation Champions
Tom Balsano
(Specialty Polymers)
Open Innovation is essential
to fully leveraging our limited
R&D resources. We should
look everywhere for new
ideas, technologies and
inspiration; then use our
internal expertise to turn
these into business value
faster than our competitors.
Jean-Paul Bindelle
(Vinyls)
PVC is a material of the
future, with many applications
and processes yet to be
discovered. No less than
144 projects were submitted
for the InnoVinyls 2009
trophy!
Thierry Cartage
(DCTRP/ECM)
My role? Motivating everyone
to give their best, establishing
ways of processing ideas so
as to come up with the most
innovative projects, and
then... encouraging people
to start all over again!
Joan Delatte
(SG/CC & Iberian region)
Being an Innovation
Champion is rather like being
a gold digger: sometimes you
need to hunt for a long time
to fi nd the ‘nugget’!
Eileen Diakun
(Peroxides)
The SBU is running an
internal innovation trophy
in parallel with SIT 2009,
to reinforce the importance
of innovation in our new
organization in the context
of a diffi cult economic
situation and recognize
local improvements inside
the SBU.
Philippe Drouillon
(Soda Ash)
Innovation is a structured
way of breaking the rules ...
in order to harvest future
results that cannot be
imagined today.
Bertrand Estrangin
(Finance)
Innovation is boosted
through the challenges that
are organized for the entire
fi nancial community
(800 people), focusing
the search for solutions or
ground-breaking innovations
on specifi c issues and
opportunities.
Antonio-Michele Giustino
(SIS)
At SIS, the recently created
New Services Development
(NSD) is putting together a
portfolio of radically
innovative projects.
Paul Harding
(NAFTA)
As an innovation
champion you are at any
given time a cheerleader,
political whip, or trainer.
Sometimes you are all three
at once. But in each role, you
gain the satisfaction of
knowing that you are doing a
small part to drive innovative
performance in the Group.
Patrick Marichal
(DCTRP/IAM)
“Tomorrow is less to
be discovered than
to be invented.”
[Gaston Berger]
Ardeshir Momtaz
(DCTRP/MDA)
Our new electronic idea box
launched in fall 2008 received
a very enthusiastic welcome,
with over 100 ideas in less
than six months!
Anja Pischtiak
(Fluor)
Innovation means activating
and exploiting our creative
potential to do new things or
to do them differently in order
to give concrete form to our
vision.
Sander Van Hulsenbeek
(Pharma)
The Solvay Pharmaceuticals
Innovation Pioneer Awards
have existed for 10 years
already, with, over time,
better results and more value
added. These awards serve
to reward Pharma innovators,
give an overview of the
innovative projects which are
underway and to pre-select
projects for the SIT.
Georges Vansteene
(DCRH)
DCRH practices innovation
on a daily basis, in particular
through process
improvements (performance
management, compensation
etc.) and the innovative
learning solutions of the
Solvay Corporate University.
Michel Washer
(Offi ce of the Comex)
Innovation needs to combine
awareness, knowledge,
creativity, ideas processing,
project management and
teamwork.
Paul Wouters
(Inergy)
Our role is to identify the best
ideas, to help them develop
and defend them until they
go into production.
Solvay live - JULY 2009 - 9

Innovation is at the heart of
Klabin’s strategic goals.
“Innovation is crucial to help us
meet customer needs, conquer new markets,
and focus on excellence in performance, in
profi tability and in product and service
development,” says Francisco Razzolini,
Director of Projects, Industrial Technology and
Supplies. At Klabin, innovation starts with the
genetic selection of the most productive trees;
those planted today are a third more
productive than trees planted just fi ve years
ago. This provides an excellent foundation for
supplying wood with properties that better
meet customer requirements. At the same
time, the company brings innovation to all its
10
REPoRt > Innovation elsewhere
HOW IS INNOVATION PRACTICED ELSEWHERE? SOLVAY LIVE HAS MET FIVE MAJOR INNOVATION PLAYERS ON THREE
CONTINENTS, ASIA, AMERICA AND EUROPE. IN EACH CASE IT IS THE SAME PASSION, ALBEIT WITH DIFFERENT
APPROACHES, FOCUSING ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, OPEN INNOVATION AND SOCIAL PROGRESS.
Klabin brings innovation
to pulp and paper
THE INNOVATIVE APPROACH OF BRAZIL’S PREMIER PULP AND PAPER COMPANY IS LEADING TO BENEFITS
FOR THE COMPANY AND ITS CUSTOMERS.
Responsible paper
manufacturer
Founded in 1899, Klabin is Brazil’s largest producer,
exporter and recycler of paper. It has 17 industrial plants
in Brazil and one in Argentina, and is organized in four
business units – Forestry, Paper, Corrugated Packaging and
Industrial Sacks. The company employs 13,400 people,
has an annual turnover of BRL (Brazilian reals) 3.1 billion
and a paper production capacity of 2 million tonnes per
year. Klabin was the fi rst company from the pulp and paper
sector in the southern hemisphere to have its forests
certifi ed by the Forest Stewardship Council.
The Monte Alegre plant
(Brazil), where water
comes out cleaner than
it came in.
industrial processes, to increase effi ciency,
reduce operating costs and cut emissions.
“We focus on producing more with less,”
adds Razzolini. This has involved the R&D
department reducing the grammage of paper
and board while maintaining the same material
and printability properties. Another area of
innovation is recycling. Half of the boxes made
by the company are produced from recycled
paper. Klabin is also part of a consortium
including Tetra Pak for the complete recycling
of paper, polyethylene and aluminum in
composite packaging. Thanks to this worldfi
rst technology using a plasma system, it is
feasible to recycle 100% of the aluminum,
plastic and paper in long-life packaging.
Innovation is a key element of the company’s
Sustainability Policy, which pursues ongoing
reduction of environmental impacts. A prime
example is the new ultra-fi ltration system to
treat effl uents at the Monte Alegre mill. It
enables water to be returned to the River
Tibagi with quality superior to the water
originally taken out. The next step at the mill is
to re-use the used water. This will reduce the
volume of effl uents and make important
savings in water use. “Over the last decade our
innovative processes have reduced
consumption of water from 50m3 to 30m³ per
ton of paper produced, which ranks Klabin
among the best integrated pulp and paper mills
in the world,” says Razzolini.

Innovation and operational
excellence are central to the
vision of AGC Flat Glass Europe: “Our goal is
to provide innovative solutions that improve
our lives at an acceptable price”, explains
Marc Van Den Neste, Vice-President,
Innovation and R&D. “Solvay was our
inspiration in launching InnoWiz, our program
of participatory innovation thanks to which
any Group employee may pass on his or her
ideas knowing that they will be examined and
processed.” AGC devotes much effort to
developing new products. According to Marc
Van Den Neste, half of the products that AGC
Flat Glass Europe will be selling in ten years’
time do not yet exist. “Currently, nearly 20%
of our margin is generated by products
launched since 1999. We want to increase this
share in the coming years.” Sustainable
development and energy effi ciency are
particularly powerful stimulants of innovation:
“With our latest generation glazing, a
detached house can easily save 400 to 500
litres of heating oil per year!” Almost 70% of
projects are related to the environment.
“Glazed surfaces can insulate just as well as
REPoRt > Innovation elsewhere
in our company, everyone is an inventor
FOR AGC FLAT GLASS EUROPE, INNOVATION IS AS VITAL IN PRODUCTION PROCESSES AND MANAGEMENT
METHODS AS IT IS FOR THE PRODUCTS THEMSELVES.
walls while letting in the sun’s heat”, says
Marc Van Den Neste. The latest generation
glass is used in particular to produce
photovoltaic panels and solar mirrors (turning
respectively light and heat into electricity).
AGC is exploring new sectors, such as health
with antibacterial glass or aesthetics and light
with Glassiled (laminated glass with integrated
LED).
AGC Flat Glass:
multiple glass
solutions for
Antwerp´s new Law
Courts (Belgium).
Development Centres and the company’s R&D
Centre have all come up with innovative ideas.
“It is the managers concerned that decide to
invest in a new idea”, says Marc Van Den
Neste, “but the success of our innovation
program we owe largely to the commitment of
our Executive Committee and our CEO!”
(1) lED: light-emitting diode.
(2) NOx: Nitrogen oxides.
STRONG COMMITMENT AT ALL LEVELS
The processes for producing glass, which
melts between 1500 and 1600°C, are also
being scrutinized for innovation. Together
with an external partner, AGC has
developed a new process at its Float
plant at Boussois (France) that
Technological leader
signifi cantly reduces energy
AGC Flat Glass Europe is part of the Japanese Asahi group
consumption and emissions of which has 54 000 employees in 20 countries. AGC Flat
CO2 and NOx. In addition to Glass Europe has 18 production lines and 10 700
the InnoWiz programme,
employees, including 180 researchers at its R & D centre in
the Marketing and New Jumet, near Charleroi (Belgium). The group is a leader in
Business
high-tech, high value-added fl at glass products for the
Development
construction, transport (trains, trams, boats), household
teams, the
appliances and new technologies (touch screens,
Business
electrochemical mirrors, glass disks, etc) sectors.
Solvay live - july 2009 - 11

REPoRt > Innovation elsewhere
open innovation
the new paradigm
FOR DR. HENRY CHESBROUGH OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, INNOVATION IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT SOURCE OF ORGANIC GROWTH WITHIN A COMPANY.
Solvay live – Dr. Chesbrough, how
would you define ‘Open
Innovation’?
Dr. Chesbrough – Using external
ideas and technologies in your own
company; allowing unused internal
ideas and technologies to be used
by others in their companies; and
finally, having a business model that
determines what external ideas to
bring in and what internal ideas to
let out.
SL – Why is this so important?
Dr. C. – Innovation is the most
important source of organic growth
for a company. It helps grow
revenues and reduce costs by
improving the internal operations
and by increasing the overall
circulation of ideas and
technologies. Limited investments in
new fields should also be made,
since it is from today’s innovators
that the market leaders of tomorrow
will be found.
SL – What do you see as the main
challenges facing a traditional
company?
Dr. C. – Many companies have great
12
Express portrait
success with a ‘closed innovation
model’ in which the flow of internal
ideas allows them to develop new
products and businesses,
generating great pride in the internal
R&D process but creating resistance
to using external ideas. In a ‘closed
model’ all the decisions for R&D
activities are made at the budgeting
stage in a top-down manner whilst
in the ‘open model’ the ideas and
decisions are made at the periphery
of the corporate ecosystem – often
with outside partners over whom we
have no control.
SL – Have you an example of open
innovation that might apply to us?
Dr. C. – Air Products developed a
technology to incinerate the waste
products of their processes but the
internal business units of the
company did not wish to spend the
money to install it in their plants.
The technology therefore was
licensed out. The licensee then
started to make money (thus
externally validating the technology)
and it was only then that Air
Products businesses decided to use
it themselves.
Best known for his book Open Innovation: The New
Imperative for Creating and Profi ting from Technology,
Dr. Henry Chesbrough is the Director of the Center for
Open Innovation at the Haas School of Business at the
University of California at Berkeley, which he joined in
2003 after six years teaching at Harvard Business School.
His most recent book is Open Business Models (2006).
Experience shows that tough times
tend to push companies into
exploring such new innovative
business models.
SL – Have you a particular
recommendation for us?
Dr. C. – Perhaps the most important
is to understand the IP (intellectual
property) ‘deadweight loss’ in the
company, by looking at what
percentage of Solvay’s patents are
actually being used in one or more
of the company’s businesses.
Unused patents are underutilised
resources that could become
revenue generators if released to
the outside world. As in the Air
Products case, they may even
provide external validation of
underappreciated internal
technology.
“Innovation
is the most
important
source of
organic growth
within a
company.”

DuPont activities
combine
chemistry, biology
and engineering.
In the 20th century,
DuPont was known
throughout the world as a chemical
company. Today, it has been
transformed into a science company;
combining chemistry with biology
and engineering. DuPont’s
pursuance of open innovation has
been a key strategy behind this
move. Open innovation represents a
collaborative approach: working
directly with customers, other
businesses, and research
organizations, to pursue new
REPoRt > Innovation elsewhere
the strength of open
innovation
RANDOLPH J. GUSCHL, DIRECTOR OF DUPONT’S CENTER FOR
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH & EDUCATION, EXPLAINS HOW
DUPONT FOCUSES ON OPEN INNOVATION THROUGH
COLLABORATION WITH EXTERNAL PARTNERS.
opportunities which are of significant
interest to all parties involved.
FOCUS ON RESEARCH
“It’s more of a portfolio focus,” explains
Guschl. “Instead of trying to do
research in just about every area of
chemistry, over the last four decades
we have focused our research on the
areas where the results will be
marketable.” Research programmes
must also be sustainable. R&D
Directors sift through each of their
programmes to ensure that the
introduction of a new technology or a
new product line will reduce the carbon
footprint in some way. This new way of
collaborating with the external world
has its challenges. Guschl identifi es the
main one as the culture of being
successful doing things the old way:
“Some of our scientifi c communities
and leaders still cling to the old, internal
research model, which can obstruct the
progress we are trying to make with the
new approach of open innovation.”
must also recognize the people inside
DuPont who work hard to fi nd the right
external partners and work with them to
make the collaboration work.” In India,
collaboration has led to more than 2,700
previously off-the-grid villages being
electrifi ed using innovative solar
systems. In Brazil, DuPont has joined
forces with the Brazilian Ministry of
Agriculture to develop the world’s only
automated DNA fi ngerprinting
instrument to rapidly pinpoint sources of
bacteria, thus enhancing food safety. In
Greensburg, USA, DuPont and Wichita
Habitat for Humanity are partnering to
build affordable and energy effi cient
houses, after 95% of the town’s houses
were destroyed in 2007 by the worst
tornado in American history.
Sustainable DuPont
REWARD SUCCESS
Another requirement is to reward
DuPont’s vision is to be the world’s most dynamic
science company, creating sustainable solutions
essential to a better, safer and healthier life.
success. “Open Innovation will Established in 1802, the company now operates in
require us to modify our more than 70 countries and employs 60 000 people.
rewards system,” says DuPont offers a wide range of products and services
Guschl. “We don’t just
reward the inventors
for markets including agriculture, nutrition,
electronics, communications, safety and protection,
home and construction, transportation and apparel.
of a particular DuPont is recognised as one of the world’s most
technology but innovative companies.
Solvay live - july 2009 - 13

14
REPoRt > Innovation elsewhere
“The three ingredients
to successful
innovation: talent,
technology and
tolerance.”
Express portrait
Dr. R.A. Mashelkar is President of the Global
Research Alliance, a network of publicly funded
R&D institutes incorporating over 60 000 scientists,
and Director-General of the Council of Scientifi c
and Industrial Research (CSIR). Deeply
committed to the innovation movement in
India, he is also Chairman of the National
Innovation Foundation, the Reliance
Innovation Council, the Thermax
Innovation Council and the Marico
Innovation Foundation. Honoured by
27 universities in four continents,
in 2005 Dr. Mashelkar was the
fi rst to receive the “Stars of
Asia” award from Business
Week magazine.
innovation in india:
The power to transform
DR. R.A. MASHELKAR, A LEADING ARCHITECT OF INDIA’S SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY POLICIES, DESCRIBES HOW INNOVATION IS
TRANSFORMING THE LIVES OF INDIAN PEOPLE.
Solvay live – What is your philosophy
on innovation?
Dr. Mashelkar – I am particularly
concerned with looking at how
innovation can be transformational for
society. This is particularly vital in
India. We have super-rich people but
also super-poor. We produce the most
engineers of any country in the world,
yet also the most illiterates. Innovation
must be directed at meeting the needs
of everyone in India.
SL – What are the key
challenges and drivers of
innovation in India?
Dr. M. – Our biggest challenge is
that we are a resource-poor
country. We therefore have to work
hard to get “More From Less”. Another
challenge concerns the three
ingredients to successful innovation:
talent, technology and tolerance. We
have talent in abundance, and are
continuously increasing our
technological capabilities. But we have
to tolerate failure better, by being more
open to take risk. Regarding drivers,
we have top leaders who have
repeatedly proved they can think out of
the box and drive transformational
innovation.
SL – Can you give an example?
Dr. M. – Ratan Tata, Chairman of the
Tata Group, was constantly distressed
to see parents transporting two, three
or more children on the back of their
scooters in the rain. He looked for an
innovative solution. The result is the
Tata Nano car, a radically small and
inexpensive family car. Another
example is the access to education
through an innovative computer-based
literacy programme, developed by F.C.
Kohli and his team, again at Tata. It
costs only $2 per person and enables
an illiterate person to read a
newspaper within six to eight weeks. It
could eliminate global illiteracy within
fi ve years!
SL – How do you defi ne Gandhian
Engineering?
Dr. M. – Gandhi believed in the welfare
of all people, not just an exclusive few.
Similarly, the principle of Gandhian
Engineering is to make science and
technology work for the benefi t of
everyone. It’s about getting “More
From Less For More” – not for more
profi t, but to extend the benefi ts of an
innovation to more and more people.
That, I believe, is the bottom line of
transformational innovation.

innovation09
The future, a question
of innovation
Solvay live - july 2009 - 15

16
INTERVIEW > The jury and its president
Solvay live – How has the spirit of
innovation evolved within the Group
since the last SIT in 2006?
Jacques van Rijckevorsel – Personally, I
see a greater awareness of the importance
of innovation for the lasting success of a
business. The Group has deployed the
three main directions of growth identified
by the Executive Committee: new products
and applications, new technologies
and new countries. We see that this awareness
is touching more and more people,
in our offices, labs and plants. Overall,
28% of Group income in 2008 came from
Jacques van Rijckevorsel,
General Manager of the
Plastics Sector and Group
Innovation Sponsor.
The crisis?
A call for innovation
With the fifth edition of the solvay innovation trophy (sit)
noW in full sWing, With 406 proJeCts entered and
100 preseleCted, JaCques van riJCkevorsel, general manager
of the plastiCs seCtor and group innovation sponsor,
shares his thoughts.
products, applications, technologies and /
or geographical positions which did not
exist five years ago. The practice of setting
innovation objectives, both for teams and
at the individual level, is gradually spreading.
SL – Is the economic crisis we are
experiencing having an impact on
innovation management at Solvay?
JvR – This crisis is a clear indicator that a
certain model of how our world works has
reached its limits. So we need to reinvent it,
at least in some aspects. We certainly find
28%
of group income
in 2008 came
from new products
and technologies
(developed in the last fi ve years), compared with 22%
in 2007. the target for 2009 is 30%.
The jury
Outside judges
Bruno van Pottelsberghe
A professor at the ulB
university (Belgium), he is
a specialist in the
evaluation of innovation
and science policy
(European and national).
He teaches the
management of R&D
programs and intellectual property at the
Solvay Business School (Belgium). He was
formerly Chief Economist at the European
Patent Offi ce.
Jean-Marie Solvay
Independent Board
member of Solvay,
member of the Solvay New
Business Board and owner
of real estate companies in
Berlin. Previously CFO of
Iridian Technologies
(Switzerland) and CEO of
Helitradewinds and Winco Helicopters, both
helicopter surveillance companies based in
Portland, uSA. Aircraft and helicopter pilot and
instructor.
Ludo Van der Heyden
Holder of the Solvay Chair
in Technological
Innovation at INSEAD
(France), he has taught at
this prestigious school
since 1988, where he
currently directs the
Advanced Management
Program for senior executives, and was
several times nominated as outstanding
professor. He also teaches at the Solvay
Business School (Belgium).
ourselves at very special moment in the
history of civilization. Thus, at a company
like ours, I see especially in this crisis a call
to be more innovative in all areas of our
responsibility: in managing our priorities,
our operating costs, our industrial equipment,
our approach to our markets, our
collaborations both internal and external...
A combination of curiosity, strength of

47%
of group projects in 2008
were developed in
association with outside
partners (customers,
universities, public authorities), compared with 48% in
2007. 2009 target: 50%.
Jos Peeters
PhD in Physics at the
university of leuven
(Belgium), he has been a
forerunner in Europe in
setting up investment
funds for new industrial
technologies. He runs
Capricorn Venture Partners,
and is also President of Quest for Growth, a
member of the Supervisory Board of the Berlin
Stock Exchange and Director of Nasdaq
Europe, of which he is one of the founders.
Erkki Ormala
Vice President,
Technology and Trade
Policy of Finnish group
Nokia since 1999, this
doctor of Helsinki
university of Technology
has taken on many
responsibilities in developing
his country’s scientific policy. The author of
over 50 scientific publications, he has chaired
several working groups on innovation policy
in Europe.
Anna Karaoglou
A doctor of Medicine, she
taught at the Catholic
university of louvain
(Belgium) before joining the
European Commission in
1989 as a member of the
‘Europe against Cancer’ Task
Force. As Deputy Head of unit
at DG Research, she has concerned herself
with Health policy and then Research. For the
past two years she has coordinated for DG
Research the European Institute of Innovation
and Technology.
character, perseverance and solidarity should
enable us to detect and seize opportunities
beyond the immediate problems we face and
which we need of course to resolve.
SL – Is Innovation at Solvay affected
by the Group’s commitments to
sustainable development?
JvR – Innovation is certainly a vehicle for ad-
90%
of executive staff were
involved in the
innovation process in
2008 by setting
themselves at least one annual innovation objective,
compared with 82% in 2007. 2009 target: 100%.
Chaired by JaCques van riJCkevorsel, the sit 2009 panel of Judges is Composed of six solvay
Judges, six outside Judges and group innovation Champion brigitte laurent.
Internal Solvay judges
Rodrigo Elizondo
After graduating in
Chemistry from the
Monterrey Institute of
Technology in Mexico, he
joined Solvay in 1992 in
Mexico as Marketing
Manager. He then went on to
hold various positions in sales
and marketing in the united States. In
Germany since 2002, he is Head of Business
Operations for Solvay & CPC Barium
Strontium within SBu AFM.
Prakash Trivedi
Educated at the
university Institute of
Chemical Technology in
Mumbai (India) and the
university of Akron
(Ohio, uSA), he worked
for several companies
before joining Gardha
Chemicals in India. He has patented many
polymers, crowned by international
awards. He is world famous for his
knowledge of plastics.
Philippe Warny
A graduate in Chemistry
from the ulB university
(Belgium), he has since
1980 held various
management posts in
Solvay, at Rosignano (Italy),
Torrelavega (Spain), DCRT
and SBu Soda Ash. He is
today Executive Vice President and General
Manager of the Energy Competence Centre.
dressing the challenges of sustainable development:
devising processes that consume
less energy and produce fewer pollutants,
developing and launching products that
contribute to the well-being of people or of
the planet... Examples of ‘Solvay-grown’ solutions
include raw materials of natural origin,
modern electrolysis technologies, improved
productivity of industrial processes,
0.6
the average score for innovative
ideas per person in 2008
compared with 0.5 in 2007.
2009 target: an average of one
accepted idea per person per year.
Peggy Watson
With a degree in in HR
management and an
MBA from Brenau
university (Georgia, uSA),
she joined Solvay
Pharmaceuticals in 1990,
where she oversees all HR
strategy: skills development,
leadership optimization, compensation
policy and social relations. She is currently
Vice President HR at Solvay Advanced
Polymers.
Leonid Parshenkov
After graduating in surgery
from the Moscow Medical
Academy, and with an
MBA from the university
of Antwerp School of
Management (Belgium),
he first became business
agent for a pharmaceutical
company. He then joined Solvay
Pharma Russia, running the marketing
department before taking over management
of the company.
Noël Tritz
joined Solvay in 1968 in
the Applied Research
laboratory of the Tavaux
plant (France). A trade
unionist, he became
secretary of the French
Works Council and then a
member of the European
Works Council. He considers innovation and
sustainable development as essential factors
of economic and social progress.
waste prevention / recycling, products which
allow us to build lighter structures, products
for thermal insulation, for li-ion batteries, for
the encapsulation of photovoltaic cells, for
fuel cells, haemodialysis and medical implants...
All this shows us that innovative chemistry
definitely has a role to play in addressing the
challenges of sustainable development.
Solvay live - july 2009 - 17

Will you be stepping onto the podium as a fifth innovation trophy priZeWinner? find brief
desCriptions of all preseleCted proJeCts in this dossier.
The 6 categories
are the same as for SIT 2006, that is:
New
business
Customer
oriented projects
Performance
improvement
DOSSIER > SIT 2009
Last straight for the
2009 Solvay Innovation Trophy
All Group players (SBus, Competence Centres, Business Support Centres,
Offi ce of the Comex and even the joint ventures) have been invited to take
part in this fi fth Solvay Innovation Trophy (SIT).
18
01.
New business:
new products,
markets, applications
and services;
02.
Customer oriented
projects: innovative
solutions which offer
new advantages to
our customers;
03.
Performance
improvement:
of processes,
products or services;
Management
improvement
Sustainable
development
and citizenship
Replicated
innovations
04.
Management
improvement:
leadership, strategy,
human resources
management,
partnerships;
05. Sustainable
development and
citizenship,
including the
economic and social
aspects of sustainable
development;
06.
Replicated
innovations:
projects inspired by
successful
innovations
elsewhere.
The 7 evaluation
criteria:
The project evaluation criteria have been defi ned
so as to support the Group’s strategy:
> Novelty/originality (obligatory criterion):
being the fi rst to have thought of it!
> Sustainable development (obligatory criterion):
a priority at Solvay.
> Resilience (new criterion):
does your project help strengthen Solvay’s
resistance to fl uctuating economic circumstances?
> Growth potential:
realistic profi tability horizons.
> Competitive advantage:
standing out from the competition.
> P artnership:
good ideas also come from outside!
> Added value for our customers:
keeping our customers in business also secures our
own future.
The replicability of projects in other entities will also
be taken into account, as innovation also includes
sharing knowledge and good practices.
Finally, the Executive Committee has expressed the
wish that 20% of 2009 Trophy submissions
contribute to saving natural resources.
RECORD PARTICIPATION
The competition will be tough! As the spirit of innovation grows within the Group, both the number and the quality of projects
increase with each edition of the Solvay Innovation Trophy: 250 projects submitted in 2003, 312 in 2006 and no less than
406 this year!

New
business
01.
New
business
NEW PRODUCTS, MARKETS,
APPLICATIONS, SERVICES
AND COMPANIES.
Page 20 \ How to associate contradictory properties? \ Low microbial development \ Recyclable fire and UV-resistant plates \ Page 21 \ Fluorine
production at client facilities \ An end to parasites \ PVC: ultra-clean plant \ Page 22 \ More flexible and recyclable \ Storming the Russian market… \
Innogenetics: a promising market \ Page 23 \ Focus on the benefits to the patients \ A new PVDF for the lithium batteries of tomorrow \
One plus one = three \ Page 24 \ Plant construction with a triple challenge \ Bicar ® for good oranges \ Towards tomorrow’s fuel tanks \ Page 25 \
Solviva, a real contribution to quality of life \ Come rain or shine
Solvay live -MOIS - july ANNÉE- 2009 - 19

New
business
20
New business > INNOVATIONS 09
208316 208980 208993
THE PVC/SAN ALLOY AT SEIFEL FOR
ELECTRIC CASKETS APPLICATION
How to associate
contradictory properties?
THE PROJECT. The switch boxes dedicated
to the general public, and to the technicians who
calculate and approve electrical distribution
for EDF (the French national electricity company),
must satisfy very specifi c criteria that sometimes
involve contradictory properties for PVC:
resistance to heat deformation, resistance
to shocks and ability to withstand extreme
weather conditions (UV resistance).
In addition, the injection molding associated with
a relatively complicated shape has required the
development of a PVC formula exhibiting a low
viscosity when melted.
The innovation therefore consists in the creation
of a formula based on PVC associated
with several other polymers which provides
the balance required to meet those particular
specifi cations.
SBU VINYLS
> Philippe Renaut; Philippe Devesvre;
Philippe Vallot.
REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING VULCANIZED
AND E-BEAM CROSSLINKED RUBBER IN
FLEXIBLE CONNECTING PIPES IN POTABLE
WATER (POLIDAN ® PNT 0553/23)
Low microbial
development
THE PROJECT. In most countries, the supply
of potable water inside homes may require
specifi c piping, as when a washing machine or
bathtap has to be connected to the water
distribution network. This operation is made
possible through a fl exible hose, usually
manufactured in EPDM (a type of elastomer).
However, the water intended for human
consumption is usually treated with chlorine
disinfectants to reduce microbial proliferation,
and EPDM elastomers have a chemical structure
easily attacked by such water disinfection
products. This microbiological growing was too
high for EPDM hoses.
This is where the Padanaplast team came in, by
offering its customers an alternative that does not
present this defect. A new market for Polidan ®
PEX (crosslinked polyethylene) was born. It was
necessary to choose the material: a special
polymer, offering the right combination of fl exibility
and temperature resistance, both required by the
client, not forgetting the crosslinking treatment to
give the required of mechanical properties.
Another challenger was silicon, but the price
proved too high. Finally the production investment
costs have proved modest compared to the
potential gain in this new growth market for
Polidan ® .
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> Christian Miglioli; Clara Malmassari.
THE FIRST LONG GLASS FIBER VINYL
COMPOSITE; OPENING A NEW ERA OF
APPLICATIONS FOR PVC!
Recyclable fi re and
UV-resistant plates
THE PROJECT. Up to now, the only kinds
of glass fi ber (GF) reinforced PVC composites
have been made of short GF mixed with PVC dry
blend before being extruded. The process cuts
the fi bers, giving poor resilience properties to
the fi nished products, which means having a very
limited number of applications.
The innovation comes from the combination of a
new patented technology to disperse the PVC into
the long GF and of the use of special PVC resin
and formulation able to gelate without being
sheared.
The long GF (10-100 mm) are dispersed with PVC
using an electrostatic fi eld. The mixture is then
simply pressed in order to gelate the PVC, without
destroying the long fi bers. The result is a thin
plate ( Claudine Bloyaert; Claude Dehennau;
Dominique Grandjean; external partners:
Éric Forest; L. Camaro.

209134 209172 209750
F2 SATELLITE PLANT
Fluorine production
at client facilities
THE PROJECT. Solvay Fluor manufactures
elemental fl uorine (F2) at its sites in Bad Wimpfen
(Germany) and Onsan (Korea). For some time now
Solvay Fluor has been investigating the possibility
to replace NF3 by Solvay’s elemental fl uorine (F2)
for CVD (chemical vapour deposition), for use in
chamber cleaning in the fl at panel (LCD) and thin
fi lm photovoltaic industries. F2 has a higher
effi ciency than NF3 and a zero GWP (global
warming potential) compared with more than
10 000 GWP for NF3, making it a perfect fi t with
the Group’s sustainability strategy. If we are
successful, the market potential is enormous: a
single PV or LCD plant can consume several ten
to hundred tons per year of pure F2!
Based on this fact, Solvay Fluor developed the
only rational solution to offer to its customers:
a unique modular “F2 satellite” concept for
on-site F2 production, avoiding F2 transport while
ensuring continuous, uninterrupted F2 supply.
This allows the customers to achieve signifi cant
investment savings, while Solvay Fluor avoids
accumulating stocks at the customer sites,
investment in packaging and shipping costs.
Solvay Fluor, with its more than 35 years of
experience in the manufacturing and handling of
F2, is working on several fronts in close
cooperation with major CVD chamber suppliers
as well as end-users. The F2 satellite concept is
easily replicable on different sizes and is being
considered in various countries. A new high purity
F2 is available to serve the semiconductor
industry in addition to the fast growing PV and
LCD markets.
SBU FLUOR
> Michael Pittroff; Seung-Bong Choi;
Francis Feys; Dae-Jun Han; Udo Landmesser;
Mark Looney; André Nothomb; Marcello Riva;
Robert Schmitt.
SILICATED SODIUM BICARBONATE AS
A NEW AND SAFE SOLUTION TO COMBAT
PARASITES
An end to parasites
THE PROJECT. Parasites such as lice in
children, red chicken mite in poultry farms
and insects in grain silos adapt and eventually
become unresponsive to conventional
insecticides.
The proposed solution, based on sodium
bicarbonate, has proved its effectiveness, and
its ‘physical’ means of operation rules out any
possible adaptation of parasites.
Mixing well-known products (sodium bicarbonate
and silica) that are harmless to humans and
animals gives a ‘silicated’ sodium bicarbonate
used in the form of powder or gel.
This mixture acts by physical effect: dehydrating
and / or suffocating the pests that have thus no
chance to mutate and adapt.
These new products are being manufactured
and developed in partnerships in Italy, France
and Spain. This approach to new markets through
partnership was presented and awarded during
the 2006 Solvay Innovation Trophy. Initial market
response is good.
SBU SODA ASH
> Olivier Patat; Pierfrancesco Morganti;
Jean-Philippe Pascal; Magali Riglet;
Giordanao Zapel.
APPLICATION OF THE ‘ZERO EFFLUENT’
CONCEPT TO THE WASTEWATER FROM
MEMBRANE ELECTROLYSIS AND VINYL
CHLORIDE PROCESSES IN RUSSIA
PVC: ultra-clean plant
THE PROJECT. Solvay has developed a
technology – unique in the world to our
knowledge – to treat effl uent from the vinyl chain
for recycling as raw material for the manufacture
of PVC.
This advanced technology demonstrates that
emissions into the environment can be further
reduced where a new vinyl production unit is set
up in a sensitive area where legislation is
particularly strict.
More precisely, the project is to treat an
electrolysis effl uent and another effl uent from
the production of vinyl chloride, the monomer
precursor of PVC. The nature of these treatments
remains confi dential at this stage, because
intellectual protection procedures are underway.
Pilot projects have been conducted successfully
at Rosignano (Italy) and Dombasle (France).
Industrial implementation is foreseen in the new
PVC production unit (330 000 tons / year) at
Kstovo in the region of Nizhny Novgorod (Russia).
CC HSE, SBU EDS
> Nathalie Swinnen; Attilio Bargagli;
Ward Blancke; Luc Botte; Pierre Coërs;
André Daene; Alain Fobelets; Patrick Gilbeau;
Alain Hanneuse; Ines Hurtado; Philippe Krafft;
Joao Marques; Marco Paci; Alessandra Pastacaldi.
Solvay live - JULY 2009 - 21

New
business
22
New business > INNOVATIONS 09
209807 209809 209810
ONE DIE AND ONE LINE TO PRODUCE A WIDE
VARIETY OF PVC HONEYCOMB
More fl exible
and recyclable
THE PROJECT. The production process of
Nidacell ® PVC honeycomb structures has
undergone a series of innovations to better meet
the demands of a market looking for fl exible
solutions to reduce the weight and cost of fi nished
products. It is also allowing us to differentiate
ourselves from competitor honeycombs in terms
of both geometric structure and production
method.
Fed with PVC powder or granules, the Nidacell ®
line offers the possibility of producing rigid,
fl exible or supple honeycombs and multilayer
honeycombs with a fi lm of heat reactive adhesive
deposited on top of the cell walls by the simple
use of a commercial coextrusion block.
Furthermore, the Nidacell ® process allows
manufacturers to develop – for a limited
investment – a whole range of honeycombs
of different thicknesses, rigidities and fl exibilities
and to market products of all types, sizes and
geometric shapes. Finally, the introduction of a
laser welding technology to create the panels
eliminates the use of an adhesive layer to
assemble the various components, allowing for a
complete recycling of the whole, including
production waste.
The launch of a fi rst production line implementing
the Nidacell ® process under licence is scheduled
to take place in September 2009.
CC MATERIALS
DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS
> Claude Dehennau; Claudine Bloyaert;
Philippe Cerclier; Philippe Devesvre; Joel Fumire;
Dominique Grandjean; François Groussard;
Philippe-Jacques Leng; Matthieu Meurat;
Jean Schoemans; Philippe Vallot.
SOLVAY TEAMS WITH PETROVAX:
PIONEERING BOOST TO INFLUENZA
VACCINES MARKET WITH NEW INNOVATIVE
PRODUCTS
Storming the Russian
market…
THE PROJECT. How to increase Solvay
Pharma Russia’s share of the infl uenza vaccine
market? Our aim was to enter the National
Vaccination Calendar and to increase our global
infl uenza vaccine expertise by expanding our
portfolio. We adopted a creative plan: combining
Solvay’s skills and technologies with those of
Russian Petrovax to produce two novel,
next-generation vaccines for the Russian and CIS
markets. The fi rst Grippol Plus ® was approved in
Russia in September 2008. Partnering with
Petrovax, we strengthen and expand our portfolio
in Russia (and ultimately on the global
marketplace) with new generation infl uenza
vaccines and other immuno-biological products
which can be produced locally in a new facility.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Leonid Parshenkov; Sjirk Kok; Arkady Nekrasov;
Natalia Puchkova.
INNOGENETICS PIONEER DIAGNOSTICS:
EARLY ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS OF
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Innogenetics:
a promising market
THE PROJECT. Dementia, including
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), represents a serious
and rapidly growing challenge for society. It is
increasingly important to diagnose it early,
with the use of biomarkers being key in the
development of effective future AD treatments.
Innogenetics is a key player in early and accurate
AD diagnosis, with its AlzBio3 test selected by
ADNI (Alzheimer Neuro-Imaging Initiative) in the
USA for exclusive use in its testing protocols
following rigorous validation studies in the US
and Europe. Innogenetics is uniquely placed to
have the fi rst FDA approved diagnostic assays for
AD, initially using cerebrospinal fl uid but later
moving to the more easily accessed blood plasma.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Sander Vanhulsenbeek; Dirk Lepoudre;
Eddy Tordeur.

209832 209845 209878
FENOFIBRATE FRANCHISE: IMPROVED
PATIENT BENEFITS, SOLVAY
PHARMACEUTICALS’ BEST EVER PRODUCT
LINE
Focus on the bene ts
to the patients
THE PROJECT. Solvay Pharmaceuticals/
Fournier developed a new fi brate (fenofi brate
or Tricor ® & Trilipix ® ) with improved effi cacy, and
then by focusing on the benefi ts of the product to
the patient set about turning it into a blockbuster
franchise. By ensuring ongoing product evolution
and novel developments focused on patient
benefi ts, the revenues to Solvay from the
fenofi brate franchise have grown to reach in 2008
alone around EUR 500 million with further growth
potential. We worked with the Irish company Elan
to apply their advanced nanotechnology
formulation to fenofi brate and we successfully
registered the products in the USA together with
our selected partner (Abbott Laboratories).
Fenofi brate is our largest ever product franchise
to date.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Susan Coles; Frederic Cren; Mairead Dunne;
Klaus Kirchgassler; Derry O Farrell; Peter Power.
NEW SOLEF ® FOR LITHIUM BATTERIES
A new PVDF for the lithium
batteries of tomorrow
THE PROJECT. Reducing CO 2 emissions from
the vehicles of the future is the challenge that the
entire automotive industry chain has set itself.
This requires the development of hybrid or fully
electric vehicles. The weak link is the storage of
electrical energy! The new batteries under
development are based on the use of lithium (Li),
but their performance is still not enough in terms
of some key parameters such as the capacity to
maintain maximum effi ciency, and the length of
the batteries’ life cycle. The project consisted of
developing a new fl uoropolymer for improved
performance and longer life of Li batteries.
This is where PDVF Solef ® comes in, but not in
its present-day commercial form.
The polymerization R&D teams at Solvay Solexis,
in collaboration with those of the industrial site
and people in contact with the market have
worked together to develop and patent a brand
new PVDF-based copolymer. Its new polymeric
microstructure provides better performance in
the binder system of advanced batteries, making
this polymer a new player in the market for Li
batteries, which will revolutionize the cars of
tomorrow. And not just cars, since the product
has interested even the famous Solar Impulse
airplane fl ying without fossil energy.
The project could bring Solvay Solexis to produce
more than 1 000 tons of this specialty PVDF
within fi ve years, thanks to interest generated
from car manufacturers.
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> Giulio Brinati; Julio Abusleme; Thierry Baert;
Anna Maria Bertasa; Bernard Goffaux;
Christophe Mathe; Riccardo Pieri; Lucia Santhia.
SOLKATHERM ® SES 36 AS WORKING FLUID
FOR ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLES
One plus one = three
THE PROJECT. Solkane ® 365 is an
hydrofl uorocarbon developed by Solvay. Galden ®
HT 55 is a product of Ausimont origin. Back
in 1999, the azeotropic behaviour (azeotrope:
a mixture of two products in a given proportion
which behaves like a third pure product) of the
mixture of these products was discovered and
patented by Solvay. At the time, Solvay Fluor
and Ausimont being competitors, no application
was developed.
Now that Solvay Fluor and Solvay Solexis are part
of the same group, this barrier no longer exists.
Work has resumed and has proved successful
at the experimental stage. The performance of
the azeotropic mixture is optimal in many
applications calling for a heat-carrying fl uid:
pumps and pipes operating at high temperatures,
temperature transfers, Rankine cycles*, etc…
It may also contribute to sustainable development
because it can be used in waste-burning
incinerators and geothermal power stations
to generate electricity from waste heat.
Finally, Solkatherm ® SES36 offers an interesting
alternative to the fl uids currently used in facilities
in urban areas: being non-fl ammable and
non-toxic, it is well-adapted to safety needs here.
* The Rankine cycle is a thermodynamic cycle in which
waste heat at low temperature from an external source
is transformed into electricity.
SBU FLUOR
> Marcello Riva; Céline Gorree;
Helmut Graas-Pfeifer; Christoph Meurer;
Alberto Nicoletti; Helge Rau; Norman Solheid;
Felix Flohr.
Solvay live - JULY 2009 - 23

New
business
24
New business > INNOVATIONS 09
209913 209975
DASH PROJECT
Plant construction
with a triple challenge
THE PROJECT. Solvay Advanced Polymers
has been developing in its R&D laboratories a
new very high performance grade of KetaSpire ®
PEEK (polyetheretherketone), able to withstand
temperatures of up to 315° C. With the market
looking very promising for this ‘ultra-material’, it
was decided to quickly develop the manufacturing
process, to build a pilot plant and scale up in
order to build a new production facility. The site
selected was at Panoli in India, where Solvay has
no particular experience and where monsoons
rage regularly.
This is where we realized the full dimension of
the project: putting together mixed teams of R&D,
construction (ECM) and sub-contractors from
three continents proved a real challenge,
especially as time was short and budget overruns
were out of the question.
The teams then got to work on a strict schedule
to which everyone had to abide discovering
sometimes as they went along the specifi c
diffi culties involved in this manufacturing process:
high temperatures, ‘exotic’ materials etc.
With this project, Solvay faced and met a triple
challenge: managing the very rapid design and
construction of a new unit, in an area where our
knowledge is not yet well established, and in
what is for us a relatively new geographical area.
In the end, the production unit was constructed
safely, in time and within budget, and the initial
market response to KetaSpire ® is very positive.
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> RJ Mysona; Jacky Claes; Ivan Claeys;
Eric Dickinson; Paresh Doshi; Bill Gandy;
Himanshu Gondaliya; Sudhir Gupta; Roger Liégeois;
Chantal Louis; Valliappan Manickam; R Mohan;
Paresh Panchal; Satyen Pandya; Hemant Patel;
Russ Slater; Arthur Viebrock.
BICAR ® IN POST-HARVEST TREATMENT
OF ORANGES
Bicar ® for good oranges
THE PROJECT. Once harvested, oranges are
most of the time treated with fungicides to
prevent degradation and prolong their shelf life.
Fungicides are expensive and toxic for humans
and the environment. Moreover their effectiveness
is not permanent because parasites and fungi can
develop a resistance which renders them
ineffective.
The proposed solution is to treat oranges and all
citrus fruits with Bicar ® : a solution that is
technically effective, economical (70 to 80%
cheaper than the fungicide solution) and
ecological.
It is simple to implement, saves water and is
easily applicable to other fruits and vegetables.
The development work is taking place in Spain,
which is Europe’s leading oranges producer with
over three million tons per year. Eventually, the
market could represent 1 000 to 3 000 tons of
additional annual Bicar ® sales for this country.
SBU SODA ASH
> Ricardo Cesar Ferreira; Elias Azulay;
Jose Manuel De La Hoz; Cristiano Fummi;
Antonio Mieiro; Olivier Patat; Javier Santyian.
210209
TSBM COMBINES BLOW MOLDING AND
THERMOFORMING FOR FULLY COMPONENT-
INTEGRATED FUEL SYSTEMS
Towards tomorrow’s
fuel tanks
THE PROJECT. TSBM (Twin Sheet Blow
Molding) is a unique process developed by Inergy
for the production of fuel systems. In a single
step, it combines the advantages of blow molding
and shaping with the simultaneous integration
inside the tank of all accessories and
components, like ventilation lines, noise baffl es
and gauges. The integration of components
(welded or riveted) is made possible at the point
in time when the tank is fully open during the
blowing cycle in the form of two half-shells.
The advantages are manifold compared with
the traditional method: better impermeability,
to the highest standards, greater useful capacity,
less noise from the fuel movements through
the judicious positioning of the baffl es and low
manufacturing cost.
In development since 2003, the fi rst tanks were
successfully tested on BMW Series 7 vehicles
in 2006. The fi rst production line for this range
was set up at Rottenburg (Germany) in 2007 and
has been in regular production since 2008. These
tanks have also been approved for the
Audi A6, for industrial production from 2009
onwards. This technology has already helped
Inergy conquer the high end of the German
carbuilding market which was previously outside
its portfolio. Beyond these successes with
conventional vehicles, this technology will meet
the requirements of hybrid vehicles, where
pressurized tanks are needed to provide excellent
mechanical strength and an absolute silence
when the car runs in electric mode.
SBU INERGY
> Franck Dhaussy; Ulrich Seibt;
Pierre-François Tardy.

210225 210392
BIOMATERIALS NEW BUSINESS LAUNCH
Solviva, a real contribution
to quality of life
THE PROJECT. Several million people across
the world have had surgery to replace or repair
bones, including two million in the United States.
This generally involves metal implants, which are
not always comfortable for the patient, cause
imaging problems with certain diagnostic
technologies and have a limited life due to the
tendency of bones to grow away from the metal
implant. After studying the risks of this medical
market with the help of the Solvay Risk
Management Tool, Solvay Advanced Polymers
decided to embark on the development and
introduction of a range of specialty polymers
called Solviva for use in implantable devices.
The product portfolio is very comprehensive, with
polymers named Zeniva (PEEK), Proniva
(self-reinforced polyphenylene), Veriva (PPSU)
and Eviva (PSU). Their main strengths lie in
their high chemical inertness, stiffness and
exceptional strength. By offering a range of
polymers from which design engineers can
develop new devices, Solvay Advanced Polymers
is allowing manufacturers to take their innovation
to new levels. By opening new opportunities for
the development of implants, Solviva is making
a signifi cant contribution to the growing demand
of the population for improved health care.
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> Shawn Shorrock; Fendi Fei; Wendy Ho;
Carrie Mc Michael; Joe Rummler;
Kendra Shoulders.
STORMBOX ® : A NEW GENERATION OF
INFILTRATION UNITS
Come rain or shine
THE PROJECT. Rainwater management
in urban areas and on motorways is crucial
to avoid fl ooding.
For this Pipelife has developed the concept
of water infi ltration units with its Stormboxes ® .
These offer maximum storage capacity,
with optimized water fl ow to facilitate infi ltration.
They are also easy to assemble and stack
to cover large areas up to great heights.
Their mechanical strength after installation
allows them to be covered with fi ll or other
materials and to withstand the passage of heavy
vehicles as on highways. They are equipped with
inspection chambers to ensure proper operation
over time and have a working life of at least
50 years, all at an extremely competitive cost.
The innovativeness of these Stormboxes ®
lies in their ease of manufacture by injection
molding, their low weight (obtained
by reducing the amount of material, while
retaining their strength), their ability to circulate
the water and thus ensure that it drains well,
and the opportunity to inspect them from three
different sides. Used together with geotextiles,
Stormbox ® stacks can play a regulatory role in
soil moisture.
These units are obviously compatible with all
pipes and fi ttings systems in the Pipelife range,
and supplement its commercial offering.
Marketing is currently ongoing through
the Pipelife network.
SBU PIPELIFE
> Hielke Hoekstra; Guillaume Bucco;
Maarten Kruijer; Michael Schouten.
Solvay live - JULY 2009 - 25

Orientation
clients
Orientation clients > LES INNOVATIONS 2009
Customer
oriented projects
02.
Customer
oriented
projects
MANAGING CUSTOMER
RELATIONS AND DEVELOPING
INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS.
Page 27 \ Raising awareness about RVR \ PVC pipes: more flexible and more durable \ Lightweight, durable and totally recyclable \ Page 28 \ Identifying
the gaps \ A rainbow of partnerships \ An increased performance PVDF \ Page 29 \ New synthesis route proves outright winner \ Better control through
observation \ Page 30 \ Invoices without the paperwork \ Single window for the electronic library \ Soluforce: a pipeline of ideas
26

206492 209151
CARDIOMETABOLIC RESIDUAL RISK
REDUCTION INITIATIVES (R³I)
Raising awareness about
RVR
THE PROJECT. Despite current standards
of care, millions of patients with heart disease
and/or diabetes remain exposed to a high
residual risk (RR) of macro-vascular events
(heart attack, stroke), and diabetic micro-vascular
complications. This is the Residual Vascular Risk
(RVR).
Atherogenic dyslipidemia (high TG and low HDL-c)
is a strong contributor to macro-vascular RR and
is also implicated in diabetic micro-vascular
complications, and is unaddressed by standard
care procedures which include statins.
The future growth of the Solvay fenofi brate-based
treatment will come from the RVR market, with
the co-prescription of statins.
In order to substantially improve and prolong the
lives of dyslipidamic patients with heart disease
and/or diabetes, but also to develop the RVR
market and maximize the business potential of
the fenofranchise, Solvay Pharmaceuticals
designed, built and funds a unique and global
organization, the Residual Risk Reduction Initiative
(R 3 i), aiming at raising awareness and driving the
need to treat the RVR in these patients.
This is a unique, innovative research and
educational initiative with global and national
organizations in over 40 countries worldwide
which is able to educate wider physicians’
audiences, accelerate changes in physician
prescribing behaviors in a cost-effective way,
and signifcantly develop Solvay awareness and
credibilty in the cardio-metabolic area.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> François Beucher; Patrick Aubonnet;
Charles Galleano; Chantal Vekens.
COMPOUNDS FOR “BI-ORIENTED” PIPES
PVC pipes: more fl exible
and more durable
THE PROJECT. Certain “bi-oriented” pipes
have been made out of steel until now.
In collaboration with our customer, we have
developed the formula for a compound that allows
us to produce (by extrusion) this kind of pipe in
PVC. That means a whole new market for PVC
compounds.
The PVC compound formulation for these
bi-oriented pipes with very specifi c applications
was not available on the market until now, and
requires a deep knowledge in additivation.
These kinds of bi-oriented PVC pipes offer
considerable advantages as they are much more
fl exible and their life time is signifi cantly
increased.
Furthermore, the PVC compound material is
cheaper than steel!
SBU VINYLS
> Hanns Ammann; Juan Gonzalez-Valero.
209729
WORLD’S LIGHTEST CLOSED LOOP-
RECYCLABLE FULL POLYMER (RADEL ® R)
RFID-EQUIPPED AIRLINE CATERING TROLLEY
Lightweight, durable
and totally recyclable
THE PROJECT. Airlines are increasingly looking to
reduce the weight of embarked items, for obvious
reasons of fuel savings and CO 2 emissions reductions.
Aerocat, a full-service trolley manufacturer, formed a
strategic alliance with key industry players, including
Solvay, to develop a brand new generation of
lightweight (25% weight less than aluminum) and fully
recyclable trolleys, under the brand name Tigris. The
material used, Radel ® R, complies with the stringent
aircraft interiors regulations in terms of fl ammability,
smoke and toxicity.
Strong support from Solvay Advanced Polymers
technical services has permitted the success in the
manufacturing of the parts, which are considered the
largest injection and extrusion thin walled parts ever
seen in high temperature thermoplastics. The selected
design allows high assembling production rates,
avoids the use of fasteners, and provides a robust fi nal
product that withstands loads up to 150 kg, which is a
fi rst. Moreover, a full Radel ® R trolley allows the use of
the RFID tracking system, facilitating the good
management of trolleys and their contents. At the end
of the trolley’s life cycle, Radel ® R parts can be ground
and reused in new trolleys, permitting a reduction of
carbon footprint by a factor of 2.2 versus the current
aluminum trolleys.
Demand for over 60 000 trolleys is foreseen by 2011.
This innovation technology is already interesting other
industries for parts such as galleys and meal boxes in
aircraft, and other applications can be foreseen for
other transport industries, such as rail and sea.
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> Margarita Alonso; Brian Alexander; Kalvis Cers;
Amy Cuevas; James Hicks; Bob Hirsch;
Ronald Lupardus; William Madden;
Michel Magdelyns; Sébastien Pétillon; Jason Ross.
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 2009 - - 27

Customer
oriented projects
28
Customer oriented projects > INNOVATIONS 09
209816 209856
EXPERT VALIDATION OF OUR GLOBAL
REGULATORY STRATEGIES
Identifying the gaps
THE PROJECT. Compounds are submitted to
Health Authorities in order to obtain regulatory
approval and, ultimately, gain market access.
We have introduced a process to validate our
registration strategies for key compounds via a
Regulatory Affairs Panel (RAP) review. Comprising
former health authority experts from the European
Union and the USA together with health
economists, they identify any gaps and devise
opportunity and risk-mitigation strategies.
These reviews take place early in compound
development and again later on, ensuring our
plans fully refl ect the constantly changing
regulatory landscape.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Tracy Baskerville.
DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION
OF BLUE PIGMENT FOR TFT-LCD APPLICATION
A rainbow of partnerships
THE PROJECT. Traditional displays have been
steadily disappearing since the early 2000s in
favor of new technologies such as plasma, liquid
crystal display (LCD) or OLED (light-emitting
diode) screens.
With its long experience in this fi eld, Daehan
Solvay Special Chemicals (DSSC Korea) has
managed to create for itself an excellent position
in these new markets.
This began in 2004 with the acquisition of a small
start-up from a local university, specializing in
research in organic materials with a potential for
these applications.
Then in 2006 it signed an agreement with Nepes
(a Korean company well introduced commercially
with LG Displays) to develop blue pigments for
new generations of screens, calling for brightness
and good contrast.
In 2008, the products from these developments
were successfully presented to LG. Finally in
2009, a 50/50 joint venture, named IRIDOS
(“rainbow” in Greek) was created with Nepes for
marketing and manufacturing.
This innovation shows how, through a careful
choice of good industrial and academic partners,
one can make rapid progress in new businesses
and convert the disappearance of an activity into
a business opportunity.
SBU AFM
> Junghwark Lee; Daehyun Joung;
Jean-Paul Guerre; Sangmin Han; Kisuck Jung;
Jin-Goo Kim; Hyunsu Lee; Jinsoo Moon;
André Nothomb; Jai-Won Park; Wooho Son;
Joachim Ulrich; Dieter Wohrle.
209976
NEW SOLEF ® FOR OFFSHORE OIL & GAS
EXTRACTION
An increased performance
PVDF
THE PROJECT. As oil becomes more and
more scarce, certain sites where extraction is
diffi cult, such as the deepwater oil platforms off
the Brazilian coast, have increased their activities.
The extraction conditions now require materials
with enhanced performance.
PVDF Solef ® - well known to a key client which
has chosen Solvay Solexis as a partner,
recognizing its innovation capacity - is already
present in this activity but is not approved for
these extreme sites.
The goal: to develop a new grade of PVDF Solef ®
that can pass the ‘blistering’ test at 1 000 bar for
offshore pipelines, while retaining the required
fl exibility and extrusion processability.
All teams, from R&D to production to marketing,
pooled their expertise to develop a brand new
PVDF polymerization and formulation process.
A new PVDF Solef ® of very high molecular weight
provided the mechanical properties, but its
practical application was not possible. The team
eventually found and synthesized, specifi cally for
this application, the necessary ‘home made’
perfl uorinated additives and patented them.
Result: the new PVDF Solef ® passed all tests and
is improving the effi ciency of oil extraction and
avoiding losses at sea.
This success has helped seal the collaboration
between the client and Solexis, while
strengthening their position for several years to
come in this market.
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> Giulio Brinati; Julio Abusleme;
Giambattista Besana; Regis Faig; Bernard Goffaux;
Éric Lhaumier; Nicasio Messina; Fabien Roblot;
Aldo Sanguineti.

210019
SYNTHESIS OF ‘GREEN’ DI- AND
POLYGLYCEROL VIA POLYCONDENSATION
OF BIOGLYCEROL
New synthesis route
proves outright winner
THE PROJECT. The main markets for
diglycerol and polyglycerol are directed towards
cosmetics and food additives. Customers are
therefore naturally sensitive to the origin of their
raw materials and give preference to those
of natural origin (not derived from petroleum).
Moreover, the trend towards commoditization
of di-and polyglycerol is placing further pressure
on prices. Until recently, our production process
was based in part on epichlorohydrin, an
expensive raw material derived from petroleum,
making it very uncompetitive compared to that
used by our competitors.
To meet our customers’ expectations, but also
the threat of extinction of our business, a new
synthesis method has been successfully
developed.
It takes natural glycerin (a renewable resource)
as the sole raw material, and polycondenses it in
a new way, limiting the quantities of reagents
and discharges through the use of an appropriate
catalyst. Compared with the traditional method
of condensation of epichlorohydrin (derived from
propylene, a non-renewable petroleum product)
and glycerol, this new way is simpler while
maintaining the good specifi cations of the fi nished
product. Most importantly, it reduces production
costs by 35% thus ensuring profi tability. Finally,
the products synthesized in this way are eco
certifi ed, opening up new markets and allowing
our customers also to be more competitive.
SBU EDS
>Werner Siemanowski; Patrick Gilbeau.
210069
PCS PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
Better control through
observation
THE PROJECT. The sodium percarbonate
market in the USA is very diffi cult, with losses
of around USD two million recorded in 2007.
Thanks to a newly developed grade, FB700C,
we are expecting profi ts that signifi cantly exceed
budget.
The secret lies in controlling the granulometry
of the powder, produced by the fl uid bed process,
and in the coating, which gives it improved
chemical and thermal stability when mixed with
the other ingredients of concentrated washing
powders.
An excellent knowledge of the fl uid bed
manufacturing process is now making it possible
to produce a powder with a grain size about
double that of earlier production. Among the key
parameters identifi ed is the humidity of the
ambient air, which can fl uctuate considerably in
the Houston area. We have also discovered that
the heat requirement is a key indicator of particle
size. The fl uid injection nozzles have been
modifi ed to reduce consumptions and a new
automated wash cycle has been developed to
reduce down time.
Knowledge and systematic control of all these
parameters are at the basis of a new automated
control system that includes feed forward and
feedback control loops. This has enabled reliable
production which optimally meets the needs of
customers. These improvements have resulted in
raw materials (H 2O 2) savings of at least 5%, and
have also increased production capacity by 15%.
SBU PEROXIDES
> Steven Lewis; Andrew Wilson;
Deer Park Superintendents; Deer Park Supervisors;
Deer Park Operations.
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 - 29

Customer
oriented projects
30
Customer oriented projects > INNOVATIONS 09
210075 210131 210393
E-INVOICE: A SPEEDY WAY TO CONNECT
BUSINESS PARTNERS
Invoices without
the paperwork
THE PROJECT. A smart new functionality on
Solvay’s ERP system is making time-consuming
administrative transactions a thing of the past.
e-Invoice does away with manual data entry,
printed documents and snail-mail by automating
this process and delivering offi cial documents
to trading partners in a secure digital format via
the Elemica Network, a third party provider
dedicated to the chemicals industry. By sharing
this service, partners enjoy interconnected
communications, automatic integration of data
in their ERP systems, and transparent order
management. e-Invoice delivers signifi cant
economic and environmental savings by reducing
the time spent on everyday administrative tasks
and eliminating paper, printing and postage costs.
CC SIS, CC LEGAL AND
COMPLIANCE, BSC SUPPLY CHAIN
EUROPE, CC CORPORATE FINANCE
> Michel Adant; Bernard Boucher;
Francesco Dilillo; Enrique Iglesias; Chantal Liesse;
Michel Tonnon; Richard Verlaque; Haimo Zekoll.
INTEGRATED ACCESS TO ELECTRONIC
SCIENTIFIC RESOURCES (E-LIBRARY)
Single window for
the electronic library
THE PROJECT. Ordering any type of article or
document from one’s own computer, using a
single intranet portal, has become possible, even
with a partial bibliographic reference.
The e-library system fi rst checks all current
subscriptions at Solvay and the internal
databases. If the article is available, a link to the
document in pdf format appears in a few seconds.
Otherwise, the system compares the availability
of the document from selected publishers,
chooses the least expensive and then proposes a
pre-fi lled form to confi rm the order. A confi rming
click and the article is e-mailed within 48h.
It couldn’t be more simple!
Until now, the various electronic resources
(e-magazines, databases, document orders)
proposed to the Solvay group by the
documentation management of Intellectual Assets
Management and Pharma Scientifi c Information
were not inter-linked. Users had to move from one
site to another and copy / paste document
references. The integration project has brought
together all these tools, enabling users to navigate
easily from one source to another, whatever their
point of entry (Internet, databases...).
This device is also designed to collect statistics
that allow optimal management of subscriptions.
The heart of the system is the OpenURL link
resolver “SFX”, coupled with the identifi cation
of the user, his entity, as well as the publications
which he has access to. SFX offers a context
menu to each user according to his access
permissions, opening the way to literature
accessible at all times.
CC IAM
> Valérie Lecharlier; Antoine Amory;
Pierre Drijvers; Verena Jess; Reinhard Leicht;
Christian Thiriaux; Natalie Wenderich.
HIGH PRESSURE REINFORCED
THERMOPLASTIC PIPE (RTP), FOR ONSHORE
AND OFFSHORE SERVICE
Soluforce:
a pipeline of ideas
THE PROJECT. Smaller marginal gas and oil
fi elds lying close to shore, mainly in northern
Europe, the Gulf of Mexico, the Persian Gulf and
the Caspian Sea, have not so far been exploited,
owing to low productivity in relation to operating
costs including that of essential corrosionresistant
steel piping.
Pipelife has already gained experience with
Soluforce, a range of thermoplastic pipes which
are much cheaper in use, resistant to pressure,
designed to carry water or oil and in which
constant pressure is maintained by the use
of aramid (a type of nylon) fi bers.
But this is not enough for the deposits in question,
where resistance to pressure, temperature and
corrosion are required.
Soluforce has therefore been improved as follows:
to increase pressure resistance the aramid fi bers
have been replaced by a lattice of high strength
steel; for average temperatures, an inner layer of
nylon 12 has been introduced; and fi nally for high
temperatures and highly corrosive environments,
the inner layer is in PVDF, the fl agship product
of Solvay Solexis.
The Soluforce based on nylon 12 was developed
in partnership with Wintersall / BASF for exploiting
an oilfi eld in the Netherlands. It has been certifi ed
by Bureau Veritas and should be approved by
the Dutch authorities during summer 2009.
The fi rst sales of this high performance pipe are
planned for 2010.
SBU PIPELIFE
> Bert Dalmolen; Lennert Bakker; Peter Cloos;
Hielke Hoekstra; Maarten Kruijer; John Newbert.

Performance
improvement
03.
Performance
improvement
OF PROCESSES,
PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.
Page 32 \ Solalban Energía: energy security in a volatile market \ No to energy wasting! \ A single control room \ Page 33 \ Staying one step ahead of
our competitors \ Palladium catalyst: alumination in a strong partnership makes all the difference \ Page 34 \ Two-in-one wash \ Looking for our future
colleagues \ Stop over-production! \ Page 35 \ From chemical to technical \ A Russian success story \ Objective: excellence \ Page 36 \ A new model for
a better performance \ A better handling of constant change \ No mercy on microbes \ Page 37 \ Clinical study time divided by two \ A new, non-invasive
method \ Page 38 \ No more animal carcasses needed \ Cheaper and environmentally friendly management \ One image is worth 1 000 words \
Page 39 \ An intelligent end of life for our waste \ Page 40 \ Portable PCs in all situations thanks to a Solvay polymer \ 3S in three dimensions \ When
our supplier turns ‘buyer’
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 2009 - - 31
31

Performance
improvement
32
Performance improvement > INNOVATIONS 09
208397 208588 208983
COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANT AT BAHIA
BLANCA
Solalban Energía:
energy security in a volatile
market
THE PROJECT. In a context of uncertainty
as to the availability and price of electricity,
it was time for Solvay Indupa to take an important
step in Argentina: building a power plant
capable of ensuring the energy self-suffi ciency,
at competitive prices, of its vinyl chain at
Bahia Blanca.
The Solalban Energía S.A. project – a joint venture
between Solvay Indupa and Argentine energy
group Rafael Albanesi S.A. – consists of building
a new thermoelectric power plant (CCGT or gas
turbine combined cycle) at the Bahia Blanca site.
A fi rst open-cycle 120 megawatt (MW) unit should
be operational by 2009. Capacity will increase
to 165 MW in combined cycle in 2011. The open
cycle has involved installing two Swiftpack 60
turbines from Pratt & Whitney.
Albanesi will ensure a contractual supply of
natural gas to the plant, while a part of the
electricity production will be sold to customers
in Argentina, under the national Energía Plus
program, launched in 2006 and intended to meet
growing demand on the Argentine market.
The project has also required the construction of
a 17 km junction between the new power plant
and the TGS (Argentine gas distribution network)
pipelines, as well as reserve storage capacity on
the site.
CC ENERGY AND UTILITIES
> Philippe Warny; Edgard Bosso; Eduardo Calvo;
Armando Catala; Jose Granercarbona; Pierre Ligot;
Pablo Taboh.
COST SAVING BY COATING IMPELLER AND
CASING OF COOLING WATER PUMP
No to energy wasting!
THE PROJECT. The energy consumption of
a cooling water pump is the third largest cost
factor of the process. After doing some research
we came to realize that the performance of the
pump was rather low. The consequence is that
the electrical cost is high compared to the yield of
the pump. We started looking for a way to reduce
this high electricity consumption.
The trials we made gave us the idea to coat
the impeller and the casing of the pump. We then
observed a drastic reduction of the energy
consumption! The bonus is that the pump is also
protected from wear and corrosion.
The estimated annual profi t is around EUR 14 900
per pump.
SBU VINYLS
> Chaiwat Puttanuntadech.
OPTIMIZED LAYOUT FOR A NEW
INTEGRATED PVC SITE
A single control room
THE PROJECT. In the past, our vinyl plants
used separate control rooms for electrolysis (UE)
and the production of monomer (VCM) and
polymer (PVC). No logical connections had been
established between the different processes, and
big intermediate stocks were necessary.
Which is why we decided, in our Jemeppe plant
(Belgium) to establish close communication
between processes and to increase safety at
the same time. Later on, we were able to build a
unique control room for UE and VCM in Map
Ta Phut (Thailand). Today we are replicating this
confi guration in Santo Andre (Brazil).
The Russian IKRA project in 2006 was also a
good opportunity to develop an optimized layout
for a grass-roots integrated UEVCM-PVC site.
Signifi cant savings in investment and production
costs as well as improvements in safety and
operational coordination can be obtained by
sharing a single control room, by shortening
pipes and distances, and by changing the location
of the processing zones. This new design can
easily be replicated for other grass-roots projects.
The future will see the appearance of an integral
production unit without any intermediate stock
and managed by a central HAL (High Automated
Line).
SBU VINYLS
> Joëlle Gaspard; François Biral; Luc Botte;
Manuel Defrancisco; Monica Freitas;
Michel Lempereur; Séverine Rochard.

209718 209768
ANDROGEL ® CROSS PRICE ELASTICITY
MODEL
Staying one step ahead
of our competitors
THE PROJECT. In the United States, managed
care contracting is becoming increasingly
competitive and objective data is needed to
optimize contract negotiations. Our old system of
determining discounts worked well, but increasing
competition has rendered some contracts less
profi table than expected.
We have thus created a new modeling tool to
calculate the impact of pricing and discount
strategies for our Androgel ® product to optimize
contracting strategy and gain competitive
advantage. The Contract Sales Team has been
trained to use the tool to assess the market share
impact and the profi tability of any given contract.
Our competitors do not have such a tool yet so we
have enhanced leverage.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Matthew Owens; Eugene Chui.
PALLADIUM CATALYST FOR H 2O 2
PRODUCTION: SUCCESS STORY OF A NEW
R&D APPROACH
Palladium catalyst:
alumination in a strong
partnership makes all the
difference
THE PROJECT. All of the Group’s H 2O 2 plants
depend on the same catalyst support, based
on silicalite. Sourced from a single producer
and one plant in the world, it is expensive and
sometimes of uncertain quality, making Solvay
highly vulnerable.
We fi rst identifi ed a number of producers of
amorphous silica gels in China. The innovation
then consisted of devising and developing, with
the participation of universities (Université
Catholique de Louvain in Belgium and Institute of
Catalysis of Krakow, Poland), a so-called
‘alumination’ process, which imparts all the
required properties, by fi xing aluminum, before
impregnation by the palladium itself.
This patented process, apart from disengaging us
from the previous monopoly situation, uses raw
materials that are easily available and cheaper.
It is simple, has fewer synthesis stages,
consumes less power and generates less waste
than the old process.
Tested since mid-2008 at the Povoa (Portugal)
pilot unit, this new catalyst is also the fruit of
many global partnerships, including Accelrys
(USA) for modelling, Yonghai in China (a spin-off
from Nanjing University) for silica, and Dequachim
(Belgium) for the alumination for the production
of the industrial catalyst. This innovation is timely,
given the development of our high-productivity
megaplants with Dow and BASF.
SBU PEROXIDES
> Armin Liebens; Bertrand Boullanger;
Jal Dadabhoy; Jean-Pierre Gahny;
Bart Vercruysse; Echo Yang.
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 - 33

Performance
improvement
34
Performance improvement > INNOVATIONS 09
209784 209805 209806
NEW EFFICIENT CROSS-FLOW FILTRATION
PROJECT
Two-in-one wash
THE PROJECT. A key phase in the
hydrogenation stage of the hydrogen peroxide
manufacturing process is the separation of the
catalyst from the reaction mixture.
The system currently in use, consisting of direct
fi ltration and then washing the fi lter cake with a
reverse fl ow, dates from the 50s and the many
improvements made over time have reached their
limits in terms of effi ciency. This system is not
feasible in the giant installations of the future
(beyond the current 330 Ktons). Effi ciency is lost
due to the mechanical wear of the catalyst, and
power consumption is much too high due to the
reverse fl ow.
In the new cross-fl ow system, through the use of
tangential forces the catalyst is washed
simultaneously with the fi ltration operation, and
then returned to the reactor.
This idea from the 90s has been developed only
recently. A pilot plant built in Povoa (Portugal) in
2008 has enabled us to test and optimize the
operating parameters for a larger installation. These
were then applied at Curitiba (Brazil) over an
11 month period in order to carefully study all the
hydrodynamic phenomena and defi ne the
parameters for a 160 Ktons/year unit.
This original process has shown its full savings
potential in terms of energy, materials (less catalyst
losses from wear), labour and maintenance.
It is also opening the way to even larger units
than the biggest ones built until now, i.e. above
400 Ktons/year.
SBU PEROXIDES/BELGIUM
> Jal Dadabhoy; Pedro Borges; Patrick Dhaese;
Massimo Fedeli; Cesar Muller; Gustavo Nakamura.
RECRUIT & REWARD
Looking for our future
colleagues
THE PROJECT. To continue the growth of
Solvay Biologicals BV in the Netherlands in a very
diffi cult employment market, the company needed
to fi nd creative and innovative ways to fi ll its
vacant positions.
To address the problem, we recognized and made
use of the fact that by far the best ambassadors
Solvay has are its own employees.
We introduced a pioneering scheme whereby we
asked our employees to actively introduce us to
possible new colleagues. If they introduced a
candidate who successfully fi lled an open
vacancy, they would receive a EUR 1 500 reward.
This strategy could easily be replicated at other
Solvay sites.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Françoise Jeuken; Marvin Beusekamp;
Hannelore Kornet; Judith Kruit; Anja Oudshoorn.
CLINICAL TRIAL SUPPLY: COMPUTER
SIMULATIONS REDUCE WASTE AND SAVE
MILLIONS
Stop over-production!
THE PROJECT. Until recently, to avoid
interruption of clinical trials due to depleted study
medication stocks, over-production of trial
supplies was normal. This represented not only
a waste of compound, but a waste of time in
production of the active pharmaceutical
ingredient, formulation, packaging, storage,
distribution and at the end of the study
reconciliation and destruction of unused
medication supplies, all of which had a signifi cant
impact on environment, budget and resources.
Now for each trial different computer simulations
are used to calculate the safe minimum amount
of compound required, integrating a level of
acceptable risk which reduces the overage
(excess) of compound produced for each study.
Proven advantages in terms of clinical trials
include shorter lead times, quicker
commencement of clinical trials, and increased
satisfaction at clinical trial sites.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Geurt-Paul Koning; Marina Romay;
Henk Teunissen; Ad Theeuwes; Philippa Tibbits;
Serge VandeWitte; Erik Vanleeuwen; Isabel White.

209808 209815 209821
TAKING DRUG SYNTHESIS TO THE NEXT
LEVEL: FROM BATCH TO FLOW PROCESSES
From chemical to technical
THE PROJECT. During drug discovery and
development processes, new compounds are
synthesized and tested for biological activity.
We are implementing a paradigm shift in the way
our compounds are being synthesized. This
paradigm shift concerns the move from batch
synthesis to continuous fl ow synthesis. In
continuous fl ow the various components of a
chemical reaction are continuously fed into micro
and milli reactor channels. These channels allow
for perfect heat and mass exchange compared to
a typical batch reactor. As a result we can follow
the optimal synthesis route with the safety of the
reaction under constant control. In addition,
a reduction of by-products plus a higher purity of
the main product can be achieved.
The application of this technology fundamentally
changes the development effort for scaling-up: it
no longer focuses on the reaction itself and
scaling-up becomes a technical, rather than a
chemical process. Operational responsiveness
increases dramatically.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Bart Vansteen ; Niek Buizer ; Fabrice Guillier ;
Peter Hoeijmakers ; Chris Kruse ; Gert Lagerweij ;
Bastiaan Lastdrager ; Carla Schenk ; Uwe Schoen ;
Leo Sliedregt.
RUSSIAN RAMP-UP: SOLVAY
PHARMACEUTICALS EXTENDS ITS
FOOTPRINT INTO POST-COMMUNIST RUSSIA
AND ACHIEVES EXCELLENT MARKET SHARE
A Russian success story
THE PROJECT. We started development
in Russia in 1998-1999: with a small offi ce in
Moscow and ten people hired locally, turnover
in 1999 was EUR one million. With 140 million
people spread over 11 time zones, we needed a
new sales team distributed over a wide area and
distant from the head offi ce. We selected young,
inexperienced people straight out of university,
mostly with medical training, and we trained them
in our in-house training centre. Using advanced
electronic fi eld support systems we gave them
positive feedback and liberally praise, we taught
them to strive to be champions and to reach for
the sky. With a turnover of EUR 150 million in
2008, we had a market share of 2.4%, and we
have now entered the top 10 companies
operating on the Russian pharmaceutical market.
A replicable success story?
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Leonid Parshenkov.
MANUFACTURING AND SUPPLY
REPOSITIONING ITS SITES
Objective: excellence
THE PROJECT. We changed our business
model from plant centered to an integrated supply
chain model with centers of excellence. We added
an integrated supply chain based on the PULL
principle and we created an innovative, new
Central Demand and Supply Planning department.
This has increased our fl exibility to respond more
quickly to changes in the marketplace. All aspects
of the change management process (the
organization, performance oriented management
tools and training and development of our
employees) were addressed in our focus to
become an organization of world class excellence
driven by continuous improvement and with
positive fi nancial impact on cost and working
capital.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Ulf Suerig; Philippe Castellino; Daniel Graf;
Chantal Heroux; Jean-François Hilaire; Marc Lam;
Jean-Pierre Meriaux; Thomas Petit; Paul Robben;
Philippe Sail; Ton Stam.
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 - 35

Performance
improvement
36
Performance improvement > INNOVATIONS 09
209822 209823 209826
NEW IMPROVED MANUFACTURING
EXECUTION SYSTEMS (MES): INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY TO THE RESCUE
A new model for a better
performance
THE PROJECT. For many years, Manufacturing
Execution Systems (MES) have been used to run
manufacturing processes on the shop fl oor but
not without diffi culty or problems regarding
security and business continuity. Key issues for
any MES system are availability, performance,
business continuity, safety, security, GxP
compliance, and fl exibility.
Our multidisciplinary team involved the vendor in
a visionary and open minded approach, which
resulted in the development of an innovative and
robust model for the infrastructure of MES and
automation in general. It has been presented at
congresses and is also applicable to new
developments in equipment and systems across
other areas. It is fully validated and is being
replicated in other Solvay sites.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Marcel Degrutter; Roel Arents; Richard Bennink;
Francis Boulu; Erik Dehaan; Marcel Gross;
Hans Hamstra; Ben Hendriks; Ronald Top;
Erik Vandervoorden; Jan Westerbeek;
Bart Zondervan.
‘BREAKING THE LIMITS’: SUPPORTING
BUSINESS SUCCESS BY CREATING A FULLY
ENABLED ‘ON-DEMAND’ WEB 2.0 PHARMA
AFFILIATE
A better handling of
constant change
THE PROJECT. Our business faces constant
change, with internal needs and the external
environment in continuous fl ux. Improved
information sharing and collaboration between
ourselves and our partners are vital. We
re-engineered a Pharma sales affi liate into a fully
enabled on-demand organization using Web 2.0
best practices, processes, tools and technologies.
The system features are described and have
already been implemented. There are possibilities
for continued enhancements in the future. The
new IT platforms are able to handle constant
change in business needs and the environment.
Projects will deliver results more rapidly and in all
areas there will be less complexity.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Juergen Greilich; Bruce Boulanger;
Herbert Cramer; Benoit Lefeuvre; Johnathan Reid.
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR EARLIER
RELEASE OF THE CELL-BASED INFLUENZA
PRODUCT
No mercy on microbes
THE PROJECT. We designed a risk
assessment to identify the microbes that pose a
potential risk of entry into the infl uenza vaccine
manufacturing process. A new microbial
contaminant list was devised. Additionally
we used more effi cient technology (quantitative
polymerase chain reaction) to determine the
absence of the microbes from the vaccine
product.
The new testing yielded fi nancial and effi ciency
benefi ts: we saved over USD 400 000 annually.
We were able to release materials in time
for the Russian government to begin clinical trials,
and also in time for the American government
(PANDA Project) to begin their clinical trials.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Pier Hannah; Johan Boschloo; Robert Craig;
Michael Emery; Michael Hare; Sara Jackson;
Hans Kapteyn; Alex Kersten; Iris McLean;
Jeroen Medema; Maria Pagany;
Stephanie Passmore; Frauke Rueffer;
Pieter Schoen; Kenny Seaver; Melissa Stone;
Mathea Verkerk.

209827 209828
SHORTER CLINICAL STUDY TIMES BOOSTS
OUTPUT; ANDROGEL ® LOW-DOSE DOSSIER
SCORES
Clinical study time divided
by two
THE PROJECT. Clinical study times are a key
factor on the critical path to new products
reaching markets. In 2005 Solvay’s performance
was 844 days per study vs an industry mean of
771. We set up the “Breakthrough” taskforce and
worked with the Centre for Medicines Research
(UK) and outside experts Quintiles. Our goal was
to be amongst the top fi ve companies in 2008
without jeopardizing quality or the safety of
patients. We proposed and tested deep changes
to our process.
In 2008 we achieved 421 days per study, vs 784
for the industry. Compared to our performance in
2005 we reduced by 400 days and achieved the
goal set. The Androgel ® low dose dossier was
submitted earlier as a result. All other clinical
programs now run faster.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> John Brennan; Stefan Driessen; Hjalmar Lagast;
René Sluijter; Claus Steinborn; Matthias Straub.
NMR METHOD FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF
SMALL COMPOUNDS ALTERING CELLULAR
FUNCTION
A new, non-invasive method
THE PROJECT. A reliable method is needed
to study the effect of small compounds on
complex biochemical/physiological/pathophysiological
networks in the early phase of
pharmaceutical drug discovery.
The introduction of a pioneering biologicaltechnical
tool can identify multiple alterations within
a complex biochemical network inside cells.
13C isotopomer analysis is an innovative nuclear
magnetic resonance based method which
enables monitoring of metabolite fl uxes and
identifi cation of time critical metabolic pathways.
NMR spectroscopy has the advantage that it is
non-invasive and can be used for both in vitro
and in vivo experiments.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Jochen Antel; Joachim Adam; Harald Waldeck;
Michael Wurl.
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 - 37

Performance
improvement
38
Performance improvement > INNOVATIONS 09
209830
STRESS-FREE BODY COMPOSITION
ANALYSIS WITH MAGNETIC RESONANCE
No more animal carcasses
needed
THE PROJECT. A novel technology to evaluate
body composition in laboratory animals – the
MiniSpec – was successfully implemented and
adapted to our needs. Body composition is closely
related to metabolic disorders, one of our current
therapeutic areas. Previously animals were
sacrifi ced for carcass analysis to measure body
composition. The MiniSpec provides a rapid and
precise measurement of fat and lean components
in conscious animals. The measurement takes
less than two minutes, there is no need for
anesthetics and it allows frequent testing in
longitudinal studies with low overall operating
costs. In conclusion, the analysis of body
composition is of high added value, giving more
insight into the profi le of a Solvay compound in
early studies. Implementation of the MiniSpec
enables us to improve performance and
contribute to sustainable preclinical research and
the Solvay animal care policy. For the future,
adaptation for diabetic nephropathy is envisioned
and currently under investigation.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Sabine Brandes; Joachim Adam;
Ralf Dehnhardt; Borislav Jeremic;
Edith Kaczmarek; Dania Reiche; Joern Voss.
209834 209864
LEAN MANUFACTURING OF LACTULOSE:
RENEWED LOGISTICS (QM-CROCO)
Cheaper and environmentally
friendly management
THE PROJECT. Lactulose bottles and sachets
were associated with high storage costs, long
lead-times, large pipeline stocks and a block on
shipment of unreleased product within the current
SAP system. Our lean manufacturing project
makes it possible now to ship directly out of the
factory without interim warehouse storage, in a
structured, fully controlled and validated
environment using SAP. The project has delivered
fi nancial, effi ciency and environmental benefi ts,
with closure of an external rented warehouse
used to store lactulose, reduction of transport
between the factory and the rented warehouse,
reduction of FTEs, reduction of lead-times,
reduction of pipeline stocks and environmental
savings, such as CO 2 reduction.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Rene Schrijver; Didier Delplan; Gretel Eubanks;
Rob Fransen; Stelios Sevastides.
SOLVAY VISUAL LIBRARY
One image is worth
1 000 words
THE PROJECT. The Solvay Visual Library is an
innovative tool that allows effective and fl exible
sharing of visual communication supports (photos,
movies, logos...) throughout the Group. It provides
a user-friendly platform to all Solvay employees,
enabling them to download and contribute quality
images. Until now, these images had been
scattered and inaccessible to many.
The system promotes the various aspects of
the Group and supports its reputation by providing
free access to large numbers of images (5 000 by
end-2009), some of which were previously stored
locally. The Solvay Visual Library increases
the amount of visual aids available for external
and internal communication and avoids duplicate
purchases or archiving of images.
The Solvay Visual Library is open to all Solvay
employees via the Solia home page.
CC COM & PA
> Antonia Walckiers; Isabelle Chaerels;
Douglas Atkinson; Luc Barbeaux; Pascale Belvaux;
Nathalie Debuyst; Michel Defourny; Elsa Delacroix;
Massimo De Vecchi; Marie-Beatrice Ducray;
Pierre Godelaine; Alice Herreye; Maryse Mouillard;
Luc Warichet; Werner Wohlfahrt; Anna Zhuang.

209956
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY FOR SODA ASH
PLANTS: INCINERATION OF REFUSE-
DERIVED FUELS INSTEAD OF FOSSIL FUELS
FOR STEAM GENERATION
An intelligent end of life for
our waste
THE PROJECT. Two projects to replace fossil
with alternative fuels are making progress in
Germany. Both will supply steam and electricity to
our carbonate manufacturing units. The one at
Bernburg, in partnership with Toensmeier, is the most
advanced. Construction of the plant began in April
2008, and start-up is scheduled for spring 2010.
The one in Rheinberg, in partnership with Keppel
Seghers, is still waiting for a decision by the
Executive Committee. The idea is simple:
non-recyclable residues are used as fuel for power
stations. So-called Refuse-Derived Fuels comprise a
non-recyclable mixture of plastics, wood waste from
furniture and buildings, textiles, paper and cardboard.
These fuels can replace and economize on fossil
fuels, thus reducing CO 2 emissions. In addition, if put
into landfi ll, part of the mixture could ferment and
release methane, which has a potential greenhouse
effect 20 times that of CO 2.
There are further advantages to this innovation:
production of electricity and steam through an
economically and environmentally rational system;
energy effi ciency through cogeneration; sustainability
(15 year contracts); reliability of supply (fuels come
from within a 200 km radius); positive CO 2
performance (at least 50% of the fuels are from
renewable sources and therefore exempt from the
CO 2 emission permits); waste gas treatment by
Bicar ® using Solvay’s Neutrec ® technology.
SBU SODA ASH
> Norbert Mingels; Juergen Balg; Thomas Bauer;
Thomas Beyel; Joerg Boddenberg; Dietmar
Braeuer; Francis Coustry; Luc DeRyck; Rainer
Dopatka; Jose Granercarbona; Gerhard Karl;
Juergen Killmann; Sylvio Montag; Dirk Schulte;
Stephan Kipp; Wilfried Kleiboehmer; Baerbel Koch;
Michael Krüger; Juergen Moebius; Thomas
Mueller; Wolfgang Mueller; Ute Reuther; Guido
Rochhausen; Richard Roesler; Hugues Salmon;
Frank Schneider; Andreas Schrievers; Juergen
Tönsmeier; Ralf Uhlemann; Boris Ziegler; Philippe
Warny; Heinz-Josef Welter.
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 - 39

Performance
improvement
40
Performance improvement > INNOVATIONS 09
210107 210203 210235
TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATION
DEVELOPMENT FOR PRIMOSPIRE ®
Portable PCs in all situations
thanks to a Solvay polymer
THE PROJECT. PrimoSpire ® self-reinforced
polyphenylene from Solvay Advanced Polymers
is recognized as the world’s strongest and stiffest
unreinforced thermoplastic polymer. However, its
toughness and processibility were less than ideal.
Signifi cant improvements to the basic
polyphenylene technology at the molecular level
have resulted in a new, improved product that
boasts an unmatched strength-to-weight ratio,
now with signifi cantly enhanced toughness and
improved processibility. The result has been
welcomed by the market, as evidenced by the
adoption of PrimoSpire ® by one of the world’s
leading manufacturers of IT equipment for rugged
laptops. This application confi rms the intrinsic
value of PrimoSpire ® as an exceptionally strong,
light and tough leading-edge material. New
outlets are already coming into sight in the
aerospace, consumer goods and medical implants
sectors.
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> Satchit Srinivasan; Bruce Clark; Mahendra Dosi;
Scott Harding; Greg Plithides; Suresh Sriram;
David B. Thomas.
3S SOLVAY SHARED SERVICES DRIVES
INNOVATION WITH GLOBAL PROCESS
REDESIGN, BREAKTHROUGH CHANGE
MANAGEMENT AND NEW COMPANY START-UP.
3S in three dimensions
THE PROJECT. The implementation of Solvay
Shared Services (3S) in the Group has proved its
worth in reducing costs and increasing process
effi ciency through partnership and centralization
of ‘back offi ce’ functions. Over the past three
years, 3S has been successfully deployed in three
dimensions: a global redefi nition of HR and
fi nance processes (with IMAGINE and
RENAISSANCE), pioneering change management
(SHAPE 3S-SIS) and the launch of a real start-up
in Lisbon, Portugal (Solvay 3S, supported by
Solvay Portugal).
3S also contributes signifi cantly to the Group’s
strategy, with a 43% reduction in the cost of
fi nancial processes, thanks to increased SAP
standardization, scale economies, optimal
organization and location and operating
excellence, as recognized by the recent ISO
9001-2008 certifi cation. The 2010 target will be
continuous process improvement, to ensure
business continuity and customer satisfaction.
CC FINANCE, CC SIS
> Guy Mercier; Pierre Boyer; Mario Branco;
Éric Degroote; Euripe des Marques dos Santos;
Jean-Pierre Devooght; Patrick Ewbank;
Maxime Fages; Annie Gaudy; Arturo Gutierrez;
Thierry Henaut; Cornella Holt; Michele Laemont;
Gilles Madjarian; Luc Moentack;
Étienne Moncomble; Luis Paiva; Luis Pedro;
Guy Peeters; Bruno Pluchet; Gérard Van Roye.
ELECTRICAL FITTINGS SUPPLY
When our supplier turns
‘buyer’
THE PROJECT. The NOH (Belgium) site, which
is major consumer of electrical materials of all
kinds, gave SPIE Belgium, until then subcontractor
for electricity-related work, the task of taking over,
on behalf of Solvay, the supply of all electrical and
related material. The originality of the approach is
that this mission is not confi ned only to the
equipment used by SPIE itself. It also covers
the needs of other companies operating on
the site and all Solvay technical services.
This specialist electricity company knows all
the players in this fi eld, all products and all
alternatives. Hence the idea of benefi ting from
the strength of its procurement department.
The formula was tested in 2007 and confi rmed in
2008 with an extension of the terms that bind us
to SPIE. For fair but controlled remuneration of
services provided, and a regular audit of the
benefi t of the commercial terms obtained (open
book mandate), an additional ‘purchasing’
function has been introduced into the service
contract. Results have not been long in coming.
SPIE’s bargaining power and its product
knowledge produced a signifi cant reduction in the
number of suppliers and an approximately 20%
decrease in costs in the fi rst year. In short, we buy
better and smarter. Not to mention administrative
simplifi cations such as the drastic reduction in the
number of bills from over 450 a year to around
one per month and the easier management of
stores.
This new formula of ‘turning our supplier into
our buyer’ has demonstrated its immediate
effectiveness: no investment is required and the
formula is easily transferable to other sites and
other activities.
BSC BELGIUM
> José Thomas; Mario Cocco; Jean-Marc Genot;
Jean-Luc Neumann.

Management
improvement
04.
Management
improvement
LEADERSHIP, STRATEGY,
HUMAN RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT, PARTNERSHIPS
AND PROCESSES.
Page 42 \ A tool to boost profitability \ Planetary pow-wow for building new plants \ Tracing trucks in real time \ Page 43 \ Hi Po’s become strategists \
An operational reference framework for SD policy \ New process for responsible refrigeration \ Page 44 \ Leaders for the Pharma of tomorrow \
A single worldwide system \ The Pharma dream team \ Page 45 \ How much does it cost? \ Talented filmmakers! \ Page 46 \ Human factor modeling \
From Products to Solutions \ Strategic themes and creativity \ Page 47 \ Best practices for insurance \ Revolutionizing our processes
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 2009 - - 41
41

Management
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42
Management improvement > INNOVATIONS 09
208392 208802 209065
GESLOOP: A DECISION-MAKING TOOL TO
EASILY OPTIMIZE THE CONTRIBUTION MARGIN
BY AN INTEGRATED SIMULATION OF RAW
MATERIALS PRODUCTION - SALES VALUES
A tool to boost profi tability
THE PROJECT. Gesloop is a comprehensive
management tool and a highly original one, for
four reasons:
• it gives an immediate and easy answer to the
need of optimizing the profi tability of a plant, by
helping to make the best choices amongst
complex sets of variables (i.e. energy and steam
costs, raw materials features and costs, selling
prices, maintenance costs);
• it quantifi es (in EUR) the partial contribution of
each unit of the plant to its global profi tability;
• it gives a common tool easily understandable by
the different departments (sales, production,
purchasing, supply chain);
• it shows all results in a simple graphic that
helps us improve our reactivity.
SBU VINYLS
> Francesco Tarantino; Paolo Groppi;
Alessandro Lippi; Giovanni Piras; Nadia Schioppa.
POWOW: NEW METHODOLOGY AND
PLATFORM FOR COLLABORATION OF ALL
STAKEHOLDERS IN MAJOR INTERNATIONAL
PLANT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Planetary pow-wow
for building new plants
THE PROJECT. Solvay has developed a unique
system for managing engineering documents on
the intranet/internet, which permits collaboration
between everyone involved in building a new
production plant anywhere in the world.
This system, called Powow, is accessible to all
interested parties. It is unique in enabling large
numbers of partners to work with the same tool
and to identical rules. Previously, major projects
involved only contacts between Solvay engineers
and a limited number of subcontractors.
But globalization, the presence of engineering
companies in emerging markets and Solvay’s
desire for geographic expansion have changed
the situation.
In addition to document management, Powow
includes a portal that allows Solvay to launch
tenders on the internet – with the appropriate
access rights – and to gather the proposals in
close integration with the space set aside for
the project itself. Particular focus has been placed
on creating the common structures and
numbering conventions that are essential
to international collaboration, while ensuring the
security of the system, including on the internet.
Users have been trained and the system is now
used by many subcontractors – in particular in
China, India, Thailand and Brazil.
CC ECM
> François Carette; Jean-Marc Chamberland;
Frédéric Jacquet; Denis Mathei;
Jean-Noël Meurisse; Christoph Winter.
External partner: Geert Reyniers (Jacobs
Engineering, Antwerp).
LOGISTICS AUTOMATION (LGA) BY RFID
Tracing trucks in real time
THE PROJECT. Logistics and EDP (Electronic
Data Processing) have started working with the
RFID (Radio Frequency Identifi cation) technology,
developing software programs to manage inbound
and outbound deliveries. We have started
the project with trucks delivering goods to our
customers.
Each truck has been equipped with an RFID card
which identifi es the registration number, type of
truck, etc. This data is available through the
central database as soon as entered, and then at
each important location in the plant.
We have installed the RFID reader to identify
the position of the trucks when they connect into
the system. This allows the system to know the
status of the trucks: parking area, loading bay,
weighing zone, or if they are leaving for a delivery.
The data will be used to more effi ciently control
and manage the traffi c in the plant. This automatic
logistics system appears to be a huge
improvement compared to the previous method.
Moreover this will help us optimize our Vinythai
(Thailand) resources by reducing the dispatching
operators from two to one per shift, while doubling
the capacity plant. This new system increases
employees’ productivity and adds a “fun”
dimension to their work.
SBU VINYLS
> Sitthiporn Phaengsomsri;
Kanchanat Kanchanalaksana;
Saowaluck Theeraseupsakul.

209603 209641 209681
SHARE WHAT WORKS: THE HI PO CAPACITY
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, PEGASUS
Hi Po’s become strategists
THE PROJECT. In a spirit of open innovation
and using the concept of active learning,
the Pegasus program gives future leaders the
opportunity to increase their managerial skills by
evaluating the strategy of a particular enterprise
in a live mission.
Constituted as a consortium of temporary
partners, six companies send two high potential
(‘hi po’) managers to analyze the business
strategy of the host company and its deployment
in management practices. Each member of the
consortium will in turn host a team of evaluators.
Immediately addressing the policy and strategy of
their host, the members of the evaluation team
will strengthen their ability to analyze a business
and deploy a strategy.
The approach begins with an individual
understanding of the company and its markets, a
team review of the case presented and the
formulation of hypotheses. It continues with a
fi eld visit and ends with a structured feedback
session, proposals for changes and an action plan
to the Executive Committee of the host company.
This initiative was developed in partnership with
the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality
Management) and subsidized by Solvay.
DCRH
> Jacques Hageman; Bernadette Hislaire;
Guy Peeters; Georges Vansteene.
External partners: Fernand Bosmans (KPN Orange);
Anna Karin Djupenstrom (Stora Enzo); Chris Lebeer
(EFQM); Lene Lindholm (Grundfos); Gian-Luca Mule
(EFQM ); Chris Webbley (coach).
MATRIX 5X5, A UNIQUE MANAGEMENT TOOL
TO FOSTER A SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
IN A GLOBAL, COHERENT, INNOVATIVE AND
PRAGMATIC WAY
An operational reference
framework for SD policy
THE PROJECT. The 5x5 matrix is a single
innovative framework for the integrated
management of a sustainable development
strategy. This framework intersects the main
strategy drivers at Solvay – products and
activities of today, management methods, future
developments, Visions & Values, critical risks –
with the main expectations of SD by stakeholders
divided into fi ve groups: investors, society at
large, customers and suppliers, personnel and
subcontractors, and local communities. The
resulting matrix framework includes and
structures all the key ‘fi elds of action’ related to
economic development, environmental
management and Solvay’s exercise of social
responsibility. All SD objectives defi ned by the
Solvay Group for 2012 and 2020 have also found
their place in the matrix, in the same way as
criteria and indicators, management tools (such
as the EFQM excellence model), internal
evaluation tools (‘S3’ and SPM), international SD
reporting guidelines (GRI) and the questionnaires
of social rating agencies (e.g. Vigeo, DJSI). With
this framework, which now forms an integral part
of the Group’s sustainable development strategy,
all entities can – and must – undertake a
structured self-analysis of their own challenges in
terms of SD and identify their specifi c goals and
priorities.
OFFICE OF THE COMEX
> Jacques de Gerlache; Michel Bande;
Valérie-Anne Barriat; Carole Berthelot;
Pierre Coërs; Jean-Marie de Berraly;
Philippe Drouillon; Marc Duhem;
Jean-Claude Gaudriot; Bernadette Hislaire;
Michèle Huart; Hans-Jürgen Korte;
Helmuth Leitner; Christine Tahon;
Sander Vanhulsenbeek; Michel Washer.
RESPONSIBLE REFRIGERATION TO SAVE
ENERGY AND REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS
EMISSIONS
New process for
responsible refrigeration
THE PROJECT. Applying ‘responsible
refrigeration’ methodology to new industrial
refrigeration projects makes it possible to
anticipate future regulatory constraints on the use
of uorinated refrigerants, at the same time as
positioning Solvay as a citizen enterprise.
The heart of this methodology is a procurement
model based on the dual concept of Total Cost of
Ownership (TCO) and Total Equivalent Warming
Impact (TEWI) (CO 2 equivalent analysis). The
concept of responsible refrigeration also includes
a user network, a catalog of best practices and a
team of experts acting as global citizens.
The fi rst step in creating the methodology was to
collect data from internal and external sources
(universities, United Nations, European
Commission). The team then deployed a strategy
to anticipate forthcoming legislative developments
for the phasing out of CFCs and HCFCs.
This process will be activated when replacing or
upgrading refrigeration units. It will make it
possible to select the best possible solution,
particularly in terms of long-term sealing qualities
of the systems and performance of refrigerants.
CC DIA-CPN
> Éric Dubois; Domenico Bertolotto;
Marc Degraeve; Alain Dessilly; Olivier Desweemer;
Nicolas Dugenetay; Alice Herreye;
Jean-Yves Humbert; Frank Vanrompuy.
External partner: Jesus Aguirre.
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 - 43

Management
improvement
44
Management improvement > INNOVATIONS 09
209803 209811 209813
DEVELOPING LEADERS: GLOBAL
LEADERSHIP PROGRAM FOR
PHARMACEUTICALS
Leaders for the Pharma
of tomorrow
THE PROJECT. Between now and 2015 we
need to rebuild Solvay Pharmaceuticals to equip it
to deal with new industry drivers and meet new
challenges.
Solvay Pharmaceuticals faces a tempestuous
future. This Global Leadership Program took a
group of 26 individuals from across the
pharmaceuticals globe and built a powerful
network and think tank with improved leadership
skills. Now we eagerly await their performance in
real life situations.
During this process the Action Learning Team
concept was validated and found to be universally
applicable as a safe learning environment in
which to learn about oneself and others. It can be
replicated anywhere change is needed.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Frédérique Loiseau; Coos de Graaf;
Andrew Foster; Jose Martinez-Adam; Julia Mattern;
Werner Van den Eynde; Georges Vansteene;
Éric Verpoorte.
NEW GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN AND
FINANCIAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM FOR SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS:
SAPHEGA
A single worldwide system
THE PROJECT. Solvay Pharmaceuticals
needed a single common Enterprise Resource
Planning system across all locations worldwide to
improve effi ciency and control of the supply chain
and fi nancial fl ows. The cooperation between
everyone involved around the globe in different
disciplines was a source of many small
innovations and without this living innovation
chain the project would not have been a success.
The new harmonized system was successfully
implemented right across the Pharmaceuticals
Sector and later transferred into the 3S project in
Portugal, producing further cost savings year after
year. Today monitoring and fi ne tuning continue as
we make refi nements where and when needed.
A governance system has been put in place to
collect and implement continuous small
innovations to constantly improve the system.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Raymond Kernizan; Rolf Korzonnek;
Susan Link; Gabriele Moehring; Jordi Pujol;
Paul Vanderhoeven.
TRANSFORMATION 2015: REDESIGNING
SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS TO FACE ITS
CHALLENGING FUTURE
The Pharma dream team
THE PROJECT. Solvay Pharmaceuticals must
change to face the challenges ahead. A powerful
group of patients, insurers and health advisors is
emerging whilst regulators are making it
increasingly diffi cult to register new products.
Personalized medicines are gradually replacing
one-size-fi ts-all.
The Transformation Team is a 15-strong ‘junior
executive board’ comprising one person per
functional area, free to dream, to imagine and to
plan a completely different way of working for the
future. With access to all documents and
information sources, it has formed external
advisory panels including pharmaceutical industry
associations, insurers, payers and patient
representatives to provide a broad view of the
future. The group accesses the experience and
advice of consultants. Solvay Pharma is breaking
the mold and learning to work in new and unusual
ways, and daring to implement major changes.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Peter Keller; Pascal André; Tracy Baskerville;
Puck Bossert; Susan Coles; Luc Denhaerynck;
Jean-François Hilaire; Jim Hynd; Roland Kaut;
John Metcalf; Eric Rambeaux; Cédric Schepens;
Matthias Straub; Hubert Thole;
Herbert Vanderstrate; Sander Vanhulsenbeek.

209817 209848
SUPPLY CHAIN RISK ASSESSMENT: A NEW
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM LOSS MODEL
How much does it cost?
THE PROJECT. Prior to 2008 we had no
method for calculating the effect on Solvay
Pharmaceuticals’ business of a supply chain
stoppage or loss of a plant. When a major event
occurs a method is needed by which the company
can calculate its effect. We developed a novel
estimated maximum loss model and a method
for analyzing the risk exposure from a stoppage
in product fl ow along the supply chain. These
allow us to negotiate a tailor-made insurance
program for Solvay Pharmaceuticals with lower
insurance premiums. This method need not be
restricted to pharmaceuticals but can be
replicated in other Solvay business sectors.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Ann Faseur; Francesc Junyent; Marc Lam;
Claes Martenson; Paul Vanderhoeven;
Gérard Vanwetswinkel; Erik Weterings.
SOLVAY ETHICS FILM FESTIVAL - A NAFTA
PILOT PROJECT
Talented fi lmmakers!
THE PROJECT. The Solvay Ethics Film
Festival, the premier pilot edition of which has just
ended in North America, is a unique and engaging
way to motivate employees to create their own
audiovisual learning and communication tools for
promoting ethics and compliance within Solvay.
This Festival completely revolutionizes traditional
methods of training within the company. Solvay
implemented this program to inspire in all
employees the refl ex to act with integrity as they
resolve moral dilemmas ethically and within the
framework of existing laws, our Code of Conduct
and Solvay Values. The Festival fi lms made by
employees proved that a powerful and effective
message of ethics and compliance can transcend
and break down cultural, language and
hierarchical barriers.
This pilot program was more successful than
expected in the NAFTA countries (USA, Mexico
and Canada), with 28 fi lm entries submitted by
nearly 300 employees working together in teams.
The success of this Festival also makes it clear
that it can be replicated in other parts of the
world.
CC LEGAL AND
COMPLIANCE
> Carolyn Egbert; Pascal Brousse;
Gustavo Franca; Luis Pedro; Katinka Tattersall.
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Management
improvement
46
Management improvement > INNOVATIONS 09
209865 209872
VIRTHUALIS – ENVISIONING THE FUTURE
Human factor modeling
THE PROJECT. Industrial accidents are costly
in terms of wasted lives and lost revenue.
They are also tricky to anticipate, especially when
human error is involved. A new tool developed
by a European consortium of which SIS (Solvay
Information Services) is a member, offers an
answer. VIRTHUALIS couples Virtual Reality
Environments with Human Factor software
to create real-time simulations of critical events
in existing or future industrial sites. Users interact
and learn in this dynamic and realistic
environment. Their monitored behavior offers
valuable insight into the role of humans in
accidents and helps to improve safety standards
and reduce future risk. Used in conjunction with
existing safety procedures, VIRTHUALIS is a
user-friendly tool of high value throughout the life
cycle of a plant, from design to decommissioning.
CC SIS
> Fabrizio Asdente; Massimo Benella;
Giorgio Carimati; Simone Colombo; Alessandro Lippi;
Stefano Perna.
THE SOLUTION UNIT CONCEPT LAUNCHED
AND IMPLEMENTED BY CBD INTO THE
CHEMICALS SECTOR
From Products to Solutions
THE PROJECT. The Solution Unit concept was
created in 2006 as a mean to support the
Chemicals Sector with its growth objectives. By
bringing together people dedicated exclusively to
one market, the aim was to create additional
value for Solvay, driven from a market rather than
a product approach, pulling together the range of
experiences from across the sector.
The fi nal objective was twofold: First merge all
activities of the Chemicals Sector in one specifi c
fi eld of application in order to reach critical size,
to better understand market requirements and
trends and to establish intimacy with key players;
second, reinforce market penetration of Solvay
and generate growth through the development of
new products in order to become a real solution
provider to the selected market.
Three Solution Units were born from this concept,
focusing each on a specifi c market segment:
Solution Unit Healthcare Inorganics, Solution Unit
Environmental Specialties covering soil
remediation and water treatment, and Solution
Unit Wet Chemicals focusing on high purity liquids
aiming at cleaning and etching in electronic
applications.
The Solution Unit Healthcare Inorganics has
increased profi tability from EUR 3.7 million in
2006 to an estimated EUR 5.5 million in 2009
without increase in volume, or the need for
additional capital investment. Despite the
economic recession, profi ts are expected to
increase by 10% in 2009 compared to 2008.
The Solution Unit Wet Chemicals has already
contributed to improving the results of the existing
activities and opens huge growth perspectives,
with an estimated gain of EUR 0.5 million for
2009.
CHEMICALS BUSINESS
DEPLOYMENT
> Sharon Powell; Jean-Marie Blondel;
Steve Dobson; Cédric Humblot; Claudine Lewalle;
Rodolfo Lollini; Flavio Remonato; Michael Sell;
Laurence Soeteman.
210194
SEEDS FOR GROWTH
Strategic themes
and creativity
THE PROJECT. The ‘Seeds for Growth’ project
established by the Chemicals Sector recommends two
ways of stimulating innovation for growth:
• in terms of content: focusing creativity on a strategic
theme selected by senior Sector management;
• in terms of process: stimulating creativity around the
chosen theme by organizing creativity sessions
involving 20 to 70 representatives from all horizons
and competences in the Sector.
Launched in 2008, ‘Seeds for Growth’ has focused on
the strategic theme of ‘Chemistry beyond fossil fuels’.
1 000 ideas were gathered, grouped into 50 families.
In late 2008, a jury selected the 10 families of most
promising seeds that were then studied more deeply
by the members of the CBD (Chemicals Business
Deployment) team. In late May 2009, the Chemicals
Board chose three projects among the 10 families
studied, particularly in the fi elds of CO 2 sequestration,
lightweight and insulating mineral materials, and the
recovery of manufacturing by-products for conversion
into raw materials with high added value.
‘Seeds for Growth’ in 2008 will have resulted in the
launch of three projects in areas with high growth
potential and in line with our strategic commitment to
sustainability.
CHEMICALS BUSINESS
DEPLOYMENT
> Pascale Feickens; Heinz-Joachim Belt;
Jean-Marie Blondel; Roger Gaudy;
Claudine Lewalle; Rodolfo-Eugenio Lollini;
Olivier Patat; Carlo Pini; Kris Schauvliege.

210202
ASSESSING RISKS TO TAKE MORE RISKS
Best practices
for insurance
THE PROJECT. The CC Risk Management &
Insurance (RMI) team has identifi ed several
possible improvements which can contribute to
the success of the Group and has carried out
projects in four areas under its responsibility.
The fi rst project relates to the slow cash fl ow
towards captive insurer Blair and its seemingly
excessive fi nancing. The second project focuses
on improving the company’s risk management
practices by benchmarking our practices in each
of the Group’s 10 risk categories.
This is followed with harmonization - imposed by
CC RMI on our insurers – of elements triggering
coverage in the various parts of the Group’s ‘Civil
Liability’ insurance program, the disparity of
which could have led to many gaps in coverage.
The innovative aspect of this approach was
highlighted in specialist magazine Business
Insurance. Lastly, CC RMI has systematically
mapped its local non-program insurance policies,
in order to eliminate unnecessary coverage and
consolidate other covers into new Group
programs. Our competitors and partners believe
that Solvay is the fi rst company of its size to have
such a good view of its local insurance contracts.
CC FINANCE, CC SIS
> Claes Martenson; Casimir Alvarez;
Jean-Louis Dalliers; Brigitte Delfosse;
Louis d’Oreye; Damien Dreumont; Thomas Oliphant;
Herbert Vanderstrate.
210206
REDUCING AND MANAGING COMPLEXITY
Revolutionizing
our processes
THE PROJECT. In the early 2000s, Solvay
Advanced Polymers experienced double digit
annual growth. With costs increasing at the same
speed, the company decided to analyze the way it
managed its business. Enabling staff to create
value by using all available talent and without
increasing costs was the challenge to be met.
Different approaches have been implemented, like
Lean, 6 Sigma and 80/20, in order to reduce
complexity, increase rigor and improve
transparency.
The story started with Lean, taken from the
successful experience of Toyota, applied to
production and R&D. The R&D goal: to reduce the
new product development cycle time. Result: a
gain of 30% and the establishment of a process
known as CORE. More than a tool, it is really a
whole culture that has had to be developed. The
experiment was extended to other professions in
the company that have also evolved, thanks to the
80/20 method. This focuses on what is really
necessary and brings sustainable value for the
company, e.g. the 20% of customers who provide
80% of profi ts.
This has been a small revolution for most of the
staff who have participated in this process, and
who are now making the right choices quickly,
because processes are simplifi ed. The change of
mindset is turning the entity into a ‘learning’
organization and leading to a better understanding
of value to the customer.
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> Ian Kowalski; Thomas Balsano; Max Blake;
Doug Brademeyer; Wim Depauw; Glenn Desio;
Matthew Kampling; Vincent Muller; Russell Smith;
Christopher Wilson; Tom Wood.
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48
Sustainable
development
and citizenship
05.
Sustainable
development
and citizenship
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL
AND ENVIRONMENTAL
ASPECTS.
Page 49 \ The ultimate recovery of effluent \ A “bio-PVC” from sugar and salt \ A black box for green roads \ Page 50 \ One for all! \ A company
that invests in the development of its employees’ children and families \ Where safety, competitiveness and the environment join hands \ Page 51 \
Medexis: a worldwide observatory for better health at work \ SF6 contributes to the Kyoto objectives \ A better life for animals \ Page 52 \ Ready for
tomorrow \ Fish that are more useful than rodents \ Tavaux turns to wood \ Page 53 \ Fractionate for increased performance \ Unprecedented process
safety and purity levels \ Page 54 \ Dinox ® for greener diesel engines! \ Working safe above 150°C \ One grain of salt too many in the sea \ Page 55 \
Excellent neighbors \ SPM: combined analysis of processes and markets \ Page 56 \ Good cycloning is better than leaching \ Social partners commit to
SD \ Sources of talent for the future

206818 208967 209121
S-300 EXPANSION IN GREEN RIVER
The ultimate recovery
of effl uent
THE PROJECT. Effl uent from the trona (natural
carbonate) processing plant at Green River (United
States) is discharged into settling ponds.
At the same time, the growing market for
bicarbonate in the United States is for the S-300
technical, low-cost grades, little demanding in
terms of purity as they are used for fl ue gas
cleaning in thermal electricity generating stations
to neutralize SO 2 (sulfur dioxide). This fast-growing
market is enormous.
The idea therefore came up that such a product
could be made by carbonating trona processing
effl uent with CO 2, despite its high levels of salt,
sodium sulfates and silica. After a technical study
conducted at the CER Dombasle (France), the
feasibility of the project was confi rmed.
One unit is currently under construction and is
scheduled to start in late 2009.
Initially it will work with CO 2 purchased externally.
Ultimately it is planned to use the CO 2 recovered
on our sites.
This original process has only advantages, in line
with the Group’s imperatives for market growth,
competitiveness, better use of our raw materials
and limiting pollution. For instance, it may well
obviate the need to build a new settling pond.
Finally, it is also a fi ne example of intercontinental
cooperation between the United States and
Europe.
SBU SODA ASH
> Kurt Allen; Thoi-Dai Chau; Claude Criado;
Perrine Davoine; David Hansen; Marc Mistiaen;
Alain Vandendoren.
BIO-ETHYLENE FOR VINYLS
A “bio-PVC” from sugar
and salt
THE PROJECT. We wanted to increase our
PVC offering in Brazil in response to the demand
of a growing market. The problem was that we
missed one of the main raw materials: ethylene.
Ethylene production in this region of the world is
in the hands of a single supplier.
The innovative solution here was to manufacture
bio-ethylene from bioethanol, coming from locally
produced sugar cane, “bio” meaning that the raw
material comes from a renewable natural
resource.
This idea is not that new, but we decided to build
the very fi rst large scale plant, with a new reactor
design and a low energy consumption process,
adapting the quality of the ethylene to the use of a
vinyl chloride (VCM) plant, capable of producing
the fi rst “bio-PVC” from sugar and salt.
SBU VINYLS
> Joëlle Gaspard; René Castro; Paul Degraeve;
Mauro Furlanetto; François Harvengt;
Carlos Nardocci; Michel Strebelle; Sergio Zini.
SOLVAY’S GREEN ROAD TO SUSTAINABLE
TRANSPORT
A black box for green roads
THE PROJECT. Solvay has developed a pilot
partnership in Europe with a group of carriers and
start-up company G-Tech², to reduce the
environmental impact, fuel consumption and risk
connected with its road transport operations,
which remain a important component of the
Group’s logistics chain.
Six subcontractor carriers have agreed to install in
their vehicles the G-Box, a device designed by
G-Tech², which observes driving, establishes
benchmarks and helps drivers improve their
behavior at the wheel. This creates a virtuous
circle for the implementation of best practices,
with the targets of lowering fuel consumption and
greenhouse emissions by between 5% and 15%
and reducing the risk of accidents during the
transport of hazardous goods.
Final validation of the system, following the pilot
project, is expected by the end of 2009. A similar
device, this time for company cars, is currently
being tested at the Solvay head offi ce in Brussels.
CC DIA-CPN
> Erwin Tauber; Xavier Bacque; Jaime Ballbe;
Jean-Francois Bastin; Alain Delzenne;
Alain Fromont; Miguel Plaza; external partners:
Juan Castellet; Eric Delsensries; Gaëtan Detroz;
Michael Schaaf; Philippe Virtel.
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Sustainable development and citizenship > INNOVATIONS 09
209224 209549 209731
REDESIGN A RECEIPT FORMAT TO REDUCE
RECEIPT VOLUME AND GLOBAL WARMING
One for all!
THE PROJECT. Until June 2008, the billing
system at Vinythai meant that an invoice was
issued for each order, whereas some customers
preferred having a single bill covering a series of
orders.
Two drawbacks to the ‘one order, one invoice’
process were the heavy consumption of paper
and additional and expensive ‘manual’ handling
to meet the wishes of major customers. A
reconfi guration of the process was therefore
needed. This was done on the principle of ‘one
invoice for multiple orders’. In addition, billing
now takes place at the source, that is directly
from the Map Ta Phut (Thailand) plant and not the
Bangkok head offi ce.
What remained to be done was to get all
customers to accept this new way of doing things.
It is ultimately the environmental argument (less
paper used) that has convinced them of the
merits of this change. In addition customers
receive their bills more quickly and our staff, freed
from repetitive tasks, can better devote
themselves to improving the process, reducing
the risk of errors, and to providing greater value
to customers.
BSC ASIA PACIFIC
> Phattamaporn Archaphiphat.
YES! YOUTH EXCHANGE @ SOLVAY
A company that invests
in the development of its
employees’ children
and families
THE PROJECT. The ‘YES!’ program allows
Group employees to send their children abroad for
linguistic and cultural immersion in the families of
other Solvay employees. Solvay’s Human
Resources do not want to just provide a
motivating place to work in terms of career, but
also to promote a good balance between the
working and family lives of Solvay employees,
foster their possibilities for personal growth and
cultivate the international and multicultural
character of the Group.
This program is innovative because, besides its
impact on the motivation of members through
action related to the workplace, it focuses on the
development and well-being of their families. As
such, Solvay is playing its role as a socially
responsible employer, participating in the training
of a new generation of young people who are
open-minded, multilingual and sensitive to the
needs of industry. In addition, this program, which
is deployed in all Sectors and all regions, helps
develop long-term relationships between the
families of Solvay staff.
CHEMICALS SECTOR
> Joël Marion; Johan Parisse; Anne Riguelle.
TRONA MINE METHANE RECOVERY
Where safety,
competitiveness and the
environment join hands
THE PROJECT. At the Green River mine
(United States), the methane present in the rock
formation above and below the trona seam is
liberated as a result of longwall mining. For the
safety of mine employees, this methane must be
removed from the mine. Traditionally, it had been
diluted and removed by the underground
ventilation system. In this method the methane
present in the caved portion of the longwall panel
(gob) at a high concentration (above explosive
range) must go through the explosive range in
order to meet levels set by the Mine Safety and
Health Administration.
The innovation consists of drilling gob vent
boreholes, which are normally drilled in advance
of longwall mining to a depth of approximately
20 feet above the trona seam level. Once the
longwall has mined under the borehole, methane
in the gob fl ows up the borehole, and when
needed a methane powered pump is used to
further extract methane from the mine.
This methane can then be either directly fl ared or
used as a partial substitute for the natural gas
purchased for the soda ash refi nery. A fl aring
installation is planned for summer 2009. Even in
this confi guration, the conversion of methane into
CO 2 contributes to reducing the potential
greenhouse effect. A facility to use the recovered
methane in the process will be introduced in 2010.
The benefi ts: greater safety for employees,
reduced costs and an environmental plus.
SBU SODA ASH
> Bryan Mortimer; Ron Hughes; Larry Refsdal;
Joe Vendetti.

209749 209799
MEDEXIS: MANAGING AND INTERLINKING
INFORMATION USED BY OCCUPATIONAL
PHYSICIANS AND HYGIENISTS ON
WORKPLACE RISKS
Medexis: a worldwide
observatory for better health
at work
THE PROJECT. Medexis is a database which
exploits individual medical data by associating
them with information on the exposure of Solvay
personnel to chemicals and other hazardous
products. Medexis has been developed on SAP
and is fully integrated with other SAP modules,
which is a fi rst. This is a worldwide project,
designed to ensure a fl ow of complete,
standardized and reliable data in areas that were
previously separate: scientifi c, toxicological and
regulatory information on substances, noise and
vibration, exposure levels of each employee, and
individual medical follow-up.
The system will make it possible to establish new
correlations between working conditions and
health, to identify as yet unknown health issues
and to take decisions more effectively to improve
the situation.
The system is also a management tool designed
to manage all hygiene and occupational medicine
activities in the Solvay group at both local and
corporate level (follow-up of actions and results,
scorecard and indicators, internal benchmarking,
costs of services, etc.). Medexis will also make it
possible to share best practices and best
prevention strategies worldwide. The deployment
of this system is one of the Group’s 25 key
sustainable development objectives - the goal
being to implement it at 80% of Group sites by
2012.
CC HSE
> Christiane Baleux; Willy Asnong;
Nathalie Berne; Jean-Paul Capelle; Pierre Coërs;
Stéphanie Gauzente; Philippe Hannequart;
Aline Huge; Thomas Paschek; Brigitte Sion;
Jack Smit; Paul Vanhemelryck.
CDM PROJECT THROUGH RECOVERY OF
SF6 FROM GAS-INSULATED EQUIPMENT IN
TESTING FACILITIES
SF6 contributes to
the Kyoto objectives
THE PROJECT. The CDM (Clean Development
Mechanism) project benefi ts from the fl exibility of
the Kyoto Protocol which states that developing
countries such as Korea may contribute to the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by
participating in international ‘emission trading’
under United Nations supervision.
Specifi cally, the SF6 (sulfur hexafl uoride) gas
which serves as insulation in electrical systems
tested at KERI (Korea Electrotechnology Research
Institute) is recovered, transported, processed and
recycled by Solvay Fluor instead of being
discharged to the atmosphere.
This partnership project is at the development
stage. The methodology was approved in March
2009 and it should be validated in August 2009,
verifi ed in 2010, and implemented for the fi rst
time in 2011.
It will provide additional income to Solvay, along
with energy and raw materials savings (up to
10 tons of SF6 per year) and contribute to the
Group’s reputation in Korea, with an image as a
leader in environmental protection and
sustainable development.
SBU FLUOR
> Seung-Bong Choi; Dae-Jun Han; Ho-Jin Jeon;
Hans-Jürgen Korte.
209824
THE SOLVAY ANIMAL CARE AND USE
COMMITTEE: AN INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT
GROUP OF EXPERTS FROM OUTSIDE AND
INSIDE THE COMPANY
A better life for animals
THE PROJECT. To be sustainable, all Solvay
activities must be justifi able and acceptable to
society as well as to the people that work for the
Group. The Executive Committee has adopted an
animal policy which includes the creation of an
independent oversight committee, the Solvay
group Animal Care and Use Committee or SACUC.
Independence is important when ethical and
moral considerations might potentially confl ict
with business goals. With an equal numbers of
external and internal experts with specialist
knowledge of animal experimentation, animal
alternatives and animal ethics, the committee
gives advice to Solvay’s most senior managers on
the care, use and protection of animals and on
replacement, reduction and refi nement (the 3 Rs)
in the use of all animals.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Roger Bickerstaffe; Pierre Coërs;
Jacques de Gerlache; Bruno Schmit;
Susanne Thun-Battersby.
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Sustainable development and citizenship > INNOVATIONS 09
209829 209833
SOLVAY GROUP SUSTAINABILITY TARGET NO
18: INFLUENZA PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS
PROJECT
Ready for tomorrow
THE PROJECT. The negative effects of a
pandemic on Solvay people and businesses could
be considerable. A Pandemic Preparedness
Project recognizing the necessity of robust
contingency planning to mitigate the effects of a
global pandemic on Solvay personnel and
the businesses has been established. Essential
businesses are prioritized to give best chances for
continuity. Hygiene kits help reduce the risk of
spreading and contracting infl uenza. Good quality
information prepares people to protect themselves
and their families. Stockpiled antiviral medication
can reduce the severity and health consequences
for those getting fl u. Country plans and local
pandemic champions are added tangible
manifestations of Solvay’s commitment to the
health and wellbeing of its people.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Roger Bickerstaffe; Christiane Baleux;
Carole Berthelot; Jean-Paul Bindelle;
Ann Faseur; Hans-Jürgen Korte; Claes Martenson;
Claude Michel; Belinda Schatteman;
Sarah Shaw; Martial Tardy; Herman Van Heemstra;
Herbert Vanderstrate.
ZEBRAFISH IN PHARMACOLOGY RESEARCH:
REDUCING USE OF RODENTS
Fish that are more useful
than rodents
THE PROJECT. In the neuroscience early
research area, one of Solvay Pharmaceuticals’
two main areas of research, selecting interesting
compounds for further study is diffi cult,
time-consuming and requires the use of large
numbers of rodents. Using zebrafi sh offers
possibilities for a signifi cant reduction in the use
of higher-order animals in early research and in
the quantity of compound required for early tests.
What’s more, the chances of success are
expected to be greater when conducted with
compounds that show effects in zebrafi sh. Using
zebrafi sh is also a great deal easier and more cost
effective than housing and handling rodents.
Finally, reducing and refi ning our use of animals is
integral to our animal-use policy.
PHARMACEUTICALS SECTOR
> Eric Ronken; Antoinette Degroot;
Wouter Kamphuis; Nanning Takes;
Susanne Thun-Battersby.
209904
TAVAUX PLANT BIOMASS PROJECT:
ELECTRICITY AND STEAM PRODUCTION
FROM RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Tavaux turns to wood
THE PROJECT. The Tavaux (France) biomass
project has two specifi c objectives, both in line
with our strategy of sustainable development:
• diversifying our energy supply by disconnecting
from the market for fossil fuels;
• reducing CO 2 emissions by our industrial
activities.
Approximately 300 000 tons of biomass per year,
mainly of forest origin, will cover 15% of the
plant’s needs (20% after conversion of electrolysis
to membrane technology).
At the same time 70 000 tons of CO 2 less per
year will be produced, corresponding to an overall
reduction of these emissions by 20% compared to
the current situation, where energy is produced
from gas and coal.
This project, selected and approved by the French
government in 2008, is in response to a national
call for projects to promote the use of biomass,
launched in late 2006.
It owes its success to many factors including:
• team spirit among all participants in the project;
• support from the Competence Centres
concerned;
• excellent communication, in particular with
neighbouring communities and elected local
politicians, whose support has been gained in
this way;
• a strong external partnership with Dalkia, a
subsidiary of Veolia;
• unconditional commitment from plant
management and from the Management
Committee in particular.
SBU EDS
> Michel Frasca; Christian Clerc-Girard;
José Granercarbona; Alain Michel; François Morel.

209955
REDUCING RAW MATERIAL AND ENERGY
CONSUMPTION BY OPTIMIZING FEEDSTOCK
TO FCH3-10 LIME KILNS
Fractionate for increased
performance
THE PROJECT. The good operation of lime
kilns depends on the granulometric distribution of
the limestone feedstock. The more varied the size
of limestone blocks fed into them, the less well
they function.
The lime kilns at Rheinberg (Germany) are now
supplied with limestone from Belgium. The size of
the latter varies very considerably from 120 to
20 mm (ratio 1 to 6), unlike the previous
limestone that was more consistent, from 120 to
80 mm (ratio 1 to 1.5). This provokes kiln
dysfunctions: higher temperatures and greater
consumption of raw materials and energy, and
release of mercury in the fl ue gases.
The solution is to sift the lime upstream into
‘rough’ and ‘fi ne’ fractions and to feed the kilns
with a succession of 16 layers of ‘rough’, followed
by 3 to 5 layers of ‘fi ne’ fractions.
The performance of the Rheinberg kilns has been
restored. This innovation has been replicated at
the Torrelavega (Spain) soda works, where it has
also demonstrated its full potential.
SBU SODA ASH
> Stefan Geissler.
209969
HFP PRODUCTION: PFIB REMOVAL AND
PROCESS EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT
Unprecedented process
safety and purity levels
THE PROJECT. Improving the safety of
industrial plants is an ongoing challenge,
particularly at the Spinetta (Italy) plant, which
produces the compounds needed for certain
commercial fl uorinated products.
The main goal of this project has been to make
these installations more robust, safer and more
reliable, providing a good foundation for future
developments. A multifunctional team has focused
on the destruction of the highly toxic byproduct
PFIB and on the quality improvement of the base
monomer HFP. They have set up a PFIB removal
section and a new distillation installation, which
have permitted the complete destruction of PFIB
and have taken the purifi cation of HFP to levels
never achieved before.
This new process, which is highly fl exible and less
energy-guzzling, also separates the ether coming
from the PFIB destruction, which could constitute
the starting point for a new range of products for
Solvay Solexis. The HFP plant related risk, which
was the major risk of the site, has now been
cancelled and the new safety level will facilitate
future permits for possible expansions.
Fluorinated polymers can now steadily reach
levels of quality that will enable them to attack
new and hitherto inaccessible markets.
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> Paolo Ricci; Antonio Bertani; Giorgio Canti;
Carlo Chiezzi; Giovanni Guasco; Federica Rusconi.
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Sustainable development and citizenship > INNOVATIONS 09
209983 210010 210034
SCR: TOWARDS SECOND GENERATION NO X
REDUCTION FOR DIESEL ENGINES
Dinox ® for greener diesel
engines!
THE PROJECT. Diesel engines emit high levels
of nitrogen oxides (NO x), which are harmful to
human health and the environment. Standards in
this area are also becoming increasingly stringent.
The Dinox ® technology of ‘Selective Catalytic
Reduction’ (SCR) developed by Inergy involves
injecting an aqueous solution of urea (also known
as AdBlue ® ) into the exhaust system. Unlike
competing processes, it does not use a catalyst
of rare metals. This technology also makes it
possible to decouple engine tuning from
the depollution function, thus enabling the motor
to operate at optimal speed in terms of CO 2
emissions.
Inergy has developed a compact system that
includes all functions needed to deliver Adblue ®
to the exhaust: tank, injection pump, exhaust
heater, pressure and level sensors, electrical
connections and electronic supervision of the
overall system.
Developed with seven partners in six countries,
this integrated system is fi nancially competitive.
It has been validated in all real operating
situations (arctic missions, very hot climates) and
Inergy is currently regarded as one of only two
credible suppliers in this new market.
Selected by car manufacturers in Europe and the
United States for production in 2011, this process
should allow the development of diesel vehicles in
North America and Asia. It could also encourage
the development of controlled combustion
gasoline engines, emitting very small amounts of
CO 2 but producing more NO x.
SBU INERGY
> Frédéric Jannot; Joël Op de Beeck; Mike Ruzzin;
Jim Thompson; Jules-Josep Van Schaftingen;
Nadja Walling; Guillaume Zeller.
THE SOLAR FRONTIER OF FLUORINATED
FLUIDS
Working safe above 150°C
THE PROJECT. Renewable energies have
been booming in recent years, and among them
photovoltaic cells will probably be the ones to
undergo the biggest changes. The surfaces of
these cells are getting larger and larger, and
applying therein photovoltaic materials in thin
fi lms calls for highly dedicated manufacturing
tools, to ensure uniform cooling rates. The
challenge for producers of these cells is now to
fi nd a coolant that enables operating process
temperatures above 150°C while guaranteeing
sound safety conditions. But the heat transfer
fl uids available on the market, including
de-ionized water and others widely used in the
semiconductor industry, did not meet all the
conditions: in particular their boiling point was too
low (below 150°C) or they presented fi re risks and
safety issues.
Solvay Solexis came onto the scene, proposing
new ultra high boiler Galden ® perfl uoropolyethers
(PFPE). These new fl uids are easier to handle and
remain operational throughout the life of the
equipment (about 20 years). They also have the
advantage of an excellent safety profi le, being
non-toxic, non-fl ammable and inert, thereby
improving health and safety conditions. This will
satisfy the entire photovoltaic industry, with its
undoubtedly double-digit growth prospects.
SBU SPECIALTY POLYMERS
> Francesco Triulzi; Giuliano Bernini; Roger Goyins;
Vincent Meunier; Christina Osan; Enrico Repetto;
Masanori Sasabuchi.
EXPLORING A NEW SOURCE OF BRINE FROM
DESALINATION PLANT WASTE
One grain of salt too many
in the sea
THE PROJECT. Access to drinking water is
one of the challenges of the 21 st century for
certain Mediterranean countries. In Spain, a
desalination plant providing between 20% and
30% of Barcelona’s drinking water has been in
operation since summer 2009. The desalination
plant’s reverse-osmosis system processes sea
water to produce drinking water and a waste
product, concentrated brine, which has a negative
impact on the fl ora and fauna (coral) around the
plant outlet pipe. It would be a shame for this
waste product, with such a high salt concentration
(60 g to 80 g of salt per litre, compared to about
30 g per litre in the sea), to go unused.
This project therefore aims to reduce the amount
of brine discharged into the sea by using it in an
industrial process. By means of an electrodialysis
process, the concentration of the discharge from
the reverse-osmosis process can be increased to
240 g per litre so the brine can then be purifi ed
and used as a raw material in our membrane
electrolysis process. This research project will
indicate whether this alternative source of brine is
cost effective compared to current sources of salt,
and could provide for the optimal use of natural
resources with zero environmental impact. To
meet this challenge, our brine and electrolysis
specialists in Italy are collaborating on the project
with the Barcelona water company (Aguas de
Barcelona - AGBAR) and the Universitat
Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).
BSC IBERIA
> Carlos Aladjem; Sandra Casas;
Jose-Luis Cortina; Josep Flores; Enric Larrotcha;
Florence Lutin; Fabio Mochi; José-Luis Ochando;
Alessandra Pastacaldi.

210039 210147
VITRO-SOLVAY RESIDUAL ENERGY
RECOVERY PROJECT
Excellent neighbors
THE PROJECT. Solvay & CPC Barium
Strontium will slash their consumption of natural
gas by 85%, by recovering heat from the fl ue
gases at a glass furnace operated by site
neighbor Vitro, in Mexico.
In this project all partners are winners: Solvay
gains access to energy at a reduced cost
compared to that produced from natural gas,
while Vitro gains value from energy that would
otherwise be lost, as well as saving part of the
cost of treating the residual gases. The
environment also benefi ts from reduced global
emissions of CO 2 and water consumption.
Finally, the neighboring communities of this arid
region of Mexico also stand to gain through the
preservation of natural water resources and lower
air emissions.
Not to mention the positive image associated with
the Solvay Group and Vitro, now recognized as
sustainable development players.
SBU AFM
> Francisco Juarez; Carlos Cortes;
Antonio Fuentes; Javier Hernandez;
Gilberto Martinez.
SUSTAINABLE PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: A
TECHNIQUE FOR MAPPING THE PRESENT AND
FUTURE STATUS OF SOLVAY’S PORTFOLIO OF
PRODUCTS AND R&D PROJECTS
SPM: combined analysis
of processes and markets
THE PROJECT. SPM (Sustainable Portfolio
Management) for management of a portfolio of
sustainable activities is a new strategic tool
of the Group aimed at effective management of
the portfolio of products and applications, R&D
projects and mergers and acquisitions activities.
This is an innovative way to examine all these
activities by creating a systematic model for
mapping and reacting to the potential impact of
major sustainability trends on the evolution of our
processes, businesses, R&D projects and
markets.
Complementary and additive to existing strategic
analysis and sustainability management tools,
SPM reconciles elements traditionally considered
separately, such as processes, development
projects and markets.
Developed by a cross-functional Solvay team
with the support of two consultancy companies,
this tool is unique in its approach.
The SPM tool was formally launched at the Solvay
June 2009 Strategy Meeting. Its deployment in
the SBUs of the Chemicals and Plastics Sectors
will begin from September and the fi rst overall
review at Executive Committee level is scheduled
for spring 2010.
SBU MOLECULAR
SOLUTIONS, CHEMICALS SECTOR,
PLASTICS SECTOR
> Ern Edmonds; Paulo Conde; James Daly;
Paul Dandoy; Perrine Davoine;
Lionel de Beauffort; Dominique Debecker;
Philippe Drouillon; Dominique Dussard;
Jean Fabre; Paul Jacquelot; Hans-Jürgen Korte;
Diego Lancksweert; Christelle Le Boucher;
Jan Luteijn; Gisèle Maréchal;
Peter Nieuwenhuizen;
Claude Thibaut de Maisières; Joseph Villers;
Mario Visca; Toon Van Harmelen.
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Sustainable development and citizenship > INNOVATIONS 09
210179 210210 210306
ELIMINATION OF AMMONIUM BIFLUORIDE
LEACH AGENT BY THE INTRODUCTION OF A
NEW CYCLONE DESLIMING PROCESS
Good cycloning is better
than leaching
THE PROJECT. Fluorspar (or fl uorite), the
fl uorine ore used in the Bad Wimpfen (Germany)
plant, comes from the Okorusu mine in Namibia.
This ore contains excess levels of calcium
carbonate, which need to be eliminated.
For this, a leaching treatment was introduced into
the production chain in 2005. Unfortunately, this
treatment with ammonium fl uoride leaves traces
of nitrogen, which recombines with hydrofl uoric
acid at the Bad Wimpfen facilities, causing
corrosive deposits that clog the pipes, resulting in
high maintenance costs.
By working on desliming the ore with
hydrocyclones, we are now able to achieve a
suffi ciently low content of calcium carbonate,
without recourse to leaching. The innovation
consists of cycloning in two distinct stages,
separating the fl ows, treating these two streams
separately, and then recombining them.
This produces annual savings of EUR 1.35 million,
not counting the environmental benefi ts, both
from the signifi cant reduction in energy use, and
the fact of no longer needing to consume
30 tons of ammonium fl uoride every month.
SBU FLUOR
> Rolf Gerstenberg; André Bennett; Johan Breedt;
Mark Dawe; Peter Doerrenbaecher; Francis Feys;
Richard Gevers; Rudolf Hamauka; Jim Horaeb;
Koos Hough; Willem Nependa; Lazarus Shekundja;
Themba Sibenie; Jacob Swarts; Gert van Wyk.
EUROPEAN WORKS COUNCIL/SENIOR
MANAGEMENT SEMINAR ON THE
CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY
Social partners commit
to SD
THE PROJECT. This seminar is an innovation
in the fi eld of social relations: a process to
promote awareness, acceptance and enrichment
of the Group’s strategy in terms of sustainable
development and corporate social responsibility,
developed and facilitated by members of
the European Works Council (EWC) on the one
hand, and senior SBU, CC and BSC management
on the other. The partnership, which is entirely
based on participatory learning methods,
particularly in the context of ‘learning expeditions’
by 19 Business and CC leaders, will be carried
out in all European countries. It is a fi rst in Europe,
both inside and outside the Group.
In particular, it led to the signing - by CEO
Christian Jourquin and EWC members – of a
charter that establishes shared goals for
sustainable development and corporate social
responsibility. This unprecedented initiative was
formalized in the presence of Kristin Schreiber,
chef de cabinet of Vladimir Spidla, European
Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and
Equal Opportunities.
DCRH, BSC INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS
> Noël Tritz; Jean-Claude Gaudriot; Carlos Bravo;
Pierre Coërs; Étienne Collignon; Nathalie Debuyst;
Jacques de Gerlache; Dick Dejong;
Philippe Drouillon; Perdo-Luis Falagan;
Jean Gillain; Bernadette Hislaire;
Hans-Jürgen Korte; Albert Kruft; Helmut Leitner;
Belinda Schatteman; Herbert Vanderstrate.
COMMUNITY RELATIONS & COLLEGE
PARTNERSHIPS AS A MEANS OF DRIVING
SUCCESS FOR THE SOLVAY GROUP TODAY
AND IN THE FUTURE
Sources of talent
for the future
THE PROJECT. A group like Solvay evolves
within society at large, and its successes are
inseparable from those of its employees and
the communities that surround it. As such, the
programs developed and implemented by Human
Resources are not intended for employees only,
but take into account the future of our local
communities, of our children and of our clients,
while preparing skills in disciplines that are vital
for the Group’s future.
Our college relations programs also aim to
promote the name and reputation of the Solvay
group. They are organized into three categories.
First, academic partnerships aimed at improving
the visibility of Solvay and collaborations with
institutions that are educating academic talent in
areas critical to the business. These will provide
the basis for future recruitment.
Second, scholarships, investing directly in the
future and careers of young high potentials.
Third, intern programs to assist the Group in
creating and evaluating a genuine ‘pipeline’ of
talent and maintaining strong and lasting links
with education and training institutions.
It is by preparing for the future, thanks to contacts
with the world around us and an accurate
assessment of our future needs, that we will
remain ahead of our competitors.
BSC PDP OPERATIONS
NAFTA
> Kenneth Merrick; Rachel Wengrow.

Replicated
innovations
06.
Replicated
innovations
PROJECTS INSPIRED
BY SUCCESSFUL
INNOVATIONS ELSEWHERE.
Page 58 \ Concentrating on transporting only concentrate \ No more unnecessary dead times \ “Express” operation : EUR two million saved! \ Page 59 \
The right quality at the right price \ Standardization for bespoke manufacturing \ Page 60 \ Containers, a new, simple and efficient concept for bulk
transport \ Highly filtered costs \ When innovation and sustainable development meet \ Page 61 \ Affordable dynamic displays \ Diving into the future
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 2009 - - 57
57

Replicated
innovations
58
Replicated innovations > INNOVATIONS 09
207445 209183 209262
ADOS: ADVANCED DILUTION ON SITE
Concentrating
on transporting only
concentrate
THE PROJECT. Hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2)
produced in a concentration of 70% is often used
more diluted (50 or 35%) by our customers.
So far the dilution has been done at Solvay and
the diluted product transported over long
distances by road. In other words: carrying water!
The solution is simple and already operational in
the United States. The H 2O 2 leaves the factory at
70% concentration in railway tank trucks, and is
transported as close as possible to its fi nal
destination by rail. Only near the fi nal user does
dilution take place. Road tankers are loaded in
advance with the amount of water required for the
proper dilution and concentrated H 2O 2 is
transferred to them from the rail tank trucks. All
that was needed was to supply mobile pumping
equipment, which has been done.
The fi rst two dilution stations in Europe will come
into operation in 2009, one at Chropyne in the
Czech Republic (Omega Corporation), the other at
Bayonne in France (Société LBC).
This transposition of what is practiced in the
United States, where distances are much larger,
is still pertinent in Europe, reducing the number of
trucks on the road and emissions of CO 2. In
addition, the investment necessary for the on-site
dilution is recovered in less than a year.
SBU PEROXIDES
> Michel Freres; Cyril Ausloos; Laurent Cardon;
Marco Donati; Massimo Fedeli; Robert Frasure;
Pascale Libert; Serge Olislagers.
DECREASE OF BATCH CYCLE TIME BY
DYNAMIC-CONTROLLED HOT WATER START
PROCESS
No more unnecessary dead
times
THE PROJECT. The big PVC reactors (140 m³)
in the Rheinberg (Germany) plant are fed with hot
water to launch the polymerization process.
Very hot water can be used to reduce the
charging time, but could lead to heavy fl ash
evaporation with negative effects such as
vibrations on the static support structure.
A complex, dynamically controlled hot water
feeding regulation system has been developed.
This achieves an optimal balance between limiting
the hot water temperature and charging as fast
as possible: unnecessary dead times can thus be
avoided.
This new process reduces the batch cycle time
and hence increases the effi ciency of the
production line.
SBU VINYLS
> Goetz Hoening; Franco Didonato;
Didier Emmerechts; Ruben Gabbarrini;
Lacharojana Naruedom; Gilles Schmit;
Jean-Pierre Steinmetz.
RAPID CLEANING OF HCL COLUMN
“Express” operation:
EUR two million saved!
THE PROJECT. The monitoring of the HCl
distillation column of the Tavaux (France) VCM
plant showed that the lower trays were very dirty.
It was not possible to wait for the next global
stoppage of the plant, which takes place every
four years, to carry out the cleaning.
Some time earlier, the Martorell (Spain) VCM plant
had managed to clean its column without shutting
down production.
A team at Tavaux then started working on how to
replicate this idea.
The principle was adapted to the plant thanks
to some modifi cations and a project was set up.
As a result, the cleaning of the column took only
one day, drastically reducing the production
losses. The potential savings in one shot are
estimated at EUR two million.
SBU VINYLS
> Henri Lacroix; Vincent Bell; André Poinsot;
Louis Thomas.

209541
THROUGH THE WALL AGAIN?
YES WE CAN!
The right quality
at the right price
THE PROJECT. It all started with client surveys
conducted in 2003 and 2006, which showed that
in the business of allylic products (used for
producing epoxy resins) Solvay’s performance
is well above that of its competitors.
Hence the question: in this typically commodity
business, are we not offering “over-quality”,
in other words generating unnecessary
performance in the eyes of the client, that he
is not willing to pay for, and resulting for us in
costs that could be avoided?
It is not easy to sell such an idea into a company
that for many years has been cultivating
excellence.
The matter was referred to 35 managers from all
disciplines and all continents and the result was:
yes, there are multiple opportunities to drastically
reduce these costs of “over-quality” in almost all
production and support processes.
Activated for the fi rst time in 2003, the 2009
“over-quality” cost reduction program has been
an excellent opportunity to adapt to the current
economic crisis. Specifi cally, in 2009 the
equivalent of EUR seven million a year has been
saved in this way, and ultimately we can expect
an annual recurring gain of EUR 10 million.
SBU EDS
> Bruno Jestin; Pedro Aguiar;
Mangkonkarn Boonchana; Michel Friesewinkel;
Fabienne Georges; Michael Klumpe; Philippe Krafft;
Hellen Pham; Moura Pinto; Christine Roy;
Arnaud Valenduc; Alain Vanstrydonck.
209908
MODULAR APPROACH FOR PLASTIC FUEL
TANK WELDING MACHINES TO REDUCE BY
A FACTOR OF FOUR CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
IN LOW-COST COUNTRIES
Standardization
for bespoke manufacturing
THE PROJECT. The manufacture of plastic fuel
tanks ends with a fi nishing stage of fi nal cutting
and welding. The procedures and corresponding
machinery are decisive to the economics of the
overall process.
In a fi rst step, a multicultural group of employees
defi ned standard working conditions: that is a
common way of designing, building and using
equipment. This is the heart of the business
that guarantees all customers the same levels
of reliability, quality and safety anywhere in
the world.
In a second step, all these data were used to
defi ne three different levels of equipment and
machinery, depending on the prevailing cost
structure. Thus three types of machinery, with
very different levels of automation, permit an
optimization of total costs: the most automated
– and expensive – machines in high labour cost
countries, the simplest machinery where cheaper
labour permits.
This division respects in every case the
requirements of human safety and workplace
ergonomics. It systematically includes risk
analyses, process control parameters and training.
It allows Inergy to optimize its investments and
also reduce engineering costs, lower the
time-to-production of new programs, be more
effective in problem-solving and maintenance and
fi nally, reduce the costs of poor quality.
SBU INERGY
> Stéphane Toutain; Philippe Convain;
Denis Jacqmart; Alain Potier; Arnault Thiebaut.
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 - 59

Replicated
innovations
60
Replicated innovations > INNOVATIONS 09
209916
BULK SODA ASH DELIVERIES IN STANDARD
SEA CONTAINERS
Containers, a new, simple
and effi cient concept for
bulk transport
THE PROJECT. Until now the only way used to
transport large quantities of bulk soda ash (5 000
to 15 000 tons per batch) for export was in the
holds of bulk carriers. In 2007 and 2008
availability of these vessels became scarce and
the cost doubled or even tripled, weighing heavily
on the profi tability and reliability of our export
sales.
The idea then came to transport the bulk
carbonate in standard shipping containers, which
were not affected by this very tight market. This
was made possible by the application of a fi lm
within the container, a modifi cation of the loading
station and use of tilting-chassis trucks for
emptying the containers.
This system has only advantages:
• fi nancial (reducing transport costs including
demurrage, and tying up less working capital);
• reliability and ease of operations and preserving
the quality of the soda;
• containers provide additional storage space;
• reduced use of fossil fuels by using containers
that would otherwise have done the return trip
empty from Asian and Middle East destinations.
SBU SODA ASH, BSC
SUPPLY CHAIN CHEMICALS SECTOR
> Alain Dommisse; Cvetan Cankov;
Pierre-Gilles Denis; Philippe Habraken;
Kris Lejeune; Jean-Paul Siccard; Dimitar Stefanov;
Marc Tassignon; Petya Tsekova; Michel Wierinck.
209995 209998
NEW SUPPLIER PARTNERSHIP TO OPTIMIZE
FILTRATION PROCESS AND FILTER
PROCUREMENT
Highly fi ltered costs
THE PROJECT. The Pall Corporation, a global
leader in fi ltration and separation, has been
selected as preferred partner by Solvay to
optimize fi ltration processes in Solvay plants.
The company has developed an innovative model
called VAIS (Value Added Integrated Supply), the
introduction of which into Group plants has made
it possible to reduce overall expenditure on fi lters.
Supplier Pall is also required to assist Solvay
technically in these areas. The overall aim is to
improve the fi ltration process, increase the quality
of our products and generate productivity and
maintenance gains.
The potential reduction of the cost of fi lter
purchases and use is over 50%.
Filters are an integral part of the production
process: they contribute to production itself,
are used to control the quality of the product and
have a direct impact on performance.
The VAIS model is based on the combination of
two elements: fi rst, the consolidation and
standardization of fi lter procurement worldwide;
second, access to Pall’s huge range of scientifi c
and engineering services.
This model makes it possible to reallocate Solvay
resources where they are most useful.
The VAIS model has been successfully
implemented on the four US sites of Solvay
Advanced Polymers and two Italian sites. In 2008
and 2009, other production units followed suite in
Europe, Mercosur and Thailand.
CC DIA-CPN
> Véronique Anthoine; Jal Dadabhoy;
Olivier Delannoy; Jean-Pierre Demeunynck;
Dirk Deuringer; Bob Erickson; Massimo Fedeli;
Benoit Jacquot; Roberto Malagoli; Silvia Mascagni;
Maria del Carmen Olarreaga; Adriano Pasquinelli;
Samuel Ruiz-Lucas; Roberto Sousa;
Juntasing Wanchai.
PARTICIPATIVE FORUMS AND INNOVATIVE
CHALLENGES TO GROW EMPLOYEES’
AWARENESS AND COMMITMENT TO
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
When innovation and
sustainable development
meet
THE PROJECT. How does one make
sustainable development a concrete and everyday
reality for all employees? This has been
successfully achieved by Solvay France through
two original and complementary initiatives.
The fi rst is the forums, which aim to make every
employee understand the ins and outs of
sustainable development. The innovation here is
to involve in this process all the social partners,
including unions of all hues, meeting together in
collaborative refl ection workshops and so giving
concrete form to corporate social responsibility.
The second initiative is the launch of innovation
challenges on sustainable development topics.
The fi rst challenge, on the theme of energy,
generated over 400 ideas, forty of which were
examined by a panel of specialist judges.
The second challenge, which addressed the issue
of water, generated in turn 190 innovative ideas.
This approach also has the advantage of
combining into a single stream training, refl ection,
and the generation of ideas and their treatment
from a single innovation and sustainable
development viewpoint (the two are appearing
increasingly inseparable) and working together
to get networks of communicators and innovators
up and running.
BSC FRANCE
> Olivier Monfort; David Cazaux;
Christian Clerc-Girard; Étienne Collignon;
Sébastien Duval; Wilfrid Duzan;
Jean-Claude Gaudriot; Véronique Lamarche;
Dominique Lecroc; Nathalie Mittaine;
Pierre Nicolet; Antoine Pams; Dalila Pradichit;
Pierre Ravion; François Reste de Roca;
Sébastien Toutain; Noël Tritz.

210136
SOLVAY TV AND MULTIMEDIA SCREENS
Affordable dynamic
displays
THE PROJECT. Solvay has developed a
high-performance electronic communications
network, but the Group still lacked a fl exible and
effective medium to reach audiences without
access to the company’s IT network, including
visitors and certain groups of outside
collaborators. A technical solution has been
developed for all Group entities that wish to place
dynamic displays on their sites, combining high
quality ‘corporate’ content with specifi c content
of their choice - at a very reasonable cost.
The system also opens the way for the creation of
a Solvay TV channel, which could be incorporated
into the Group’s web galaxy.
CC COM & PA
> Juan-Antonio Delatte; Frédéric Bouchat;
Victor Garcia; Sarah Oldrin.
210149
SOLVAY JUMPS INTO THE HIGH-TECH
WORLD OF ORGANIC ELECTRONICS
Diving into the future
THE PROJECT. The development of organic
electronics prefi gures many extraordinary
applications like lighting walls, electronic
newspapers and television screens so thin that
they can be rolled up.
Solvay has decided to propel itself into this
fascinating world with a radically new open
innovation approach. Starting from scratch,
we have contracted out research programs
to top-ranking academic institutions, in order to
accelerate the learning phase.
To develop our ideas and to bring them to the
industrialization stage, we need to gain know-how
in materials synthesis, purifi cation and testing.
The synthesis strand could be easily developed
based on skills and laboratories already available
to the Group. But producing realistic test
structures for evaluating these new electronic
organic products was a completely new area for us.
Through the mobilization of New Business
Development, the recruiting of specialist
researchers, exchanges of information and the
contribution of partners such as Georgia Tech,
Plextronics, IMEC and Materia Nova, we have
quickly positioned ourselves as a credible partner
for companies active in the fi eld of organic
electronics. We are now ready for a new
challenge: to create value for Solvay as quickly as
possible.
CC MATERIALS
DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS
> Vincent Thulliez; Dominique Bascour;
Mohamed Benfkih; Jean-Raphaël Caille;
Jean-Pierre Catinat; Luc Coisman; Mathieu Fenoll;
Alexandre Ferrand; Vincent Kurowski; Guy Laurent;
Karol Lorent; Yves Mahaut; Jonathan Maunoury;
Roland Martin; Véronique Mathieu; Enrico Orselli;
Alexandre Schrouben; Thierry Smoos;
Maxime Vanbeveren; Véronique Vanpee.
Solvay Solvay live live - JUILLET - JULY 2009 - 61

New
business
Customer
oriented projects
Performance
improvement
62
>>> New business
Ref Page Project
208316 20 How to associate contradictory properties?
208980 20 Low microbial development
208993 20 Recyclable fi re and UV-resistant plates
209134 21 Fluorine production at client facilities
209172 21 An end to parasites
209750 21 PVC: ultra-clean plant
209807 22 More fl exible and recyclable
209809 22 Storming the Russian market…
209810 22 Innogenetics: a promising market
>>> Customer oriented projects
Ref Page Project
206492 27 Raising awareness about RVR
209151 27 PVC pipes: more fl exible and more durable
209729 27 Lightweight, durable and totally recyclable
209816 28 Identifying the gaps
209856 28 A rainbow of partnerships
209976 28 An increased performance PVDF
>>> Performance improvement
Ref Page Project
208397 32 Solalban Energía: energy security in a volatile market
208588 32 No to energy wasting!
208983 32 A single control room
209718 33 Staying one step ahead of our competitors
209768 33 Palladium catalyst: alumination in a strong partnership
makes all the difference
209784 34 Two-in-one wash
209805 34 Looking for our future colleagues
209806 34 Stop over-production!
209808 35 From chemical to technical
209815 35 A Russian success story
209821 35 Objective: excellence
209822 36 A new model for a better performance
Ref Page Project
209832 23 Focus on the benefi ts to the patients
209845 23 A new PVDF for the lithium batteries of tomorrow
209878 23 One plus one = three
209913 24 Plant construction with a triple challenge
209975 24 Bicar ® for good oranges
210209 24 Towards tomorrow’s fuel tanks
210225 25 Solviva, a real contribution to quality of life
210392 25 Come rain or shine
Ref Page Project
210019 29 New synthesis route proves outright winner
210069 29 Better control through observation
210075 30 Invoices without the paperwork
210131 30 Single window for the electronic library
210393 30 Soluforce: a pipeline of ideas
Ref Page Project
209823 36 A better handling of constant change
209826 36 No mercy on microbes
209827 37 Clinical study time divided by two
209828 37 A new, non-invasive method
209830 38 No more animal carcasses needed
209834 38 Cheaper and environmentally friendly management
209864 38 One image is worth 1 000 words
209956 39 An intelligent end of life for our waste
210107 40 Portable PCs in all situations thanks to a Solvay
polymer
210203 40 3S in three dimensions
210235 40 When our supplier turns ‘buyer’

Management
improvement
Sustainable
development
and citizenship
Replicated
innovations
>>> Management improvement
Ref Page Project
208392 42 A tool to boost profi tability
208802 42 Planetary pow-wow for building new plants
209065 42 Tracing trucks in real time
209603 43 Hi Po’s become strategists
209641 43 An operational reference framework for SD policy
209681 43 New process for responsible refrigeration
209803 44 Leaders for the Pharma of tomorrow
209811 44 A single worldwide system
Ref Page Project
206818 49 The ultimate recovery of effl uent
208967 49 A “bio-PVC” from sugar and salt
209121 49 A black box for green roads
209224 50 One for all!
209549 50 A company that invests in the development of its
employees’ children and families
209731 50 Where safety, competitiveness and the environment
join hands
209749 51 Medexis: a worldwide observatory for better health at work
209799 51 SF6 contributes to the Kyoto objectives
209824 51 A better life for animals
209829 52 Ready for tomorrow
Ref Page Project
>>> Sustainable development and citizenship
>>> Replicated innovations
Ref Page Project
207445 58 Concentrating on transporting only concentrate
209183 58 No more unnecessary dead times
209262 58 “Express” operation: EUR two million saved!
209541 59 The right quality at the right price
209908 59 Standardization for bespoke manufacturing
209916 60 Containers, a new, simple and effi cient concept for
bulk transport
209813 44 The Pharma dream team
209817 45 How much does it cost?
209848 45 Talented Filmmakers!
209865 46 Human factor modeling
209872 46 From Products to Solution
210194 46 Strategic themes and creativity
210202 47 Best practices for insurance
210206 47 Revolutionizing our processes
Ref Page Project
209833 52 Fish that are more useful than rodents
209904 52 Tavaux turns to wood
209955 53 Fractionate for increased performance
209969 53 Unprecedented process safety and purity levels
209983 54 Dinox ® for greener diesel engines!
210010 54 Working safe above 150°C
210034 54 One grain of salt too many in the sea
210039 55 Excellent neighbors
210147 55 SPM: combined analysis of processes and markets
210179 56 Good cycloning is better than leaching
210210 56 Social partners commit to SD
210306 56 Sources of talent for the future
Ref Page Project
209995 60 Highly fi ltered costs
209998 60 When innovation and sustainable development meet
210136 61 Affordable dynamic displays
210149 61 Diving into the future
Solvay live - JULY 2009 - 63

YESTERDAY IT WAS A DREAM