With the acquisition, Covestro expands its production footprint for HDI derivatives and reaffirms its commitment in two important regions, while strengthening its ability to serve customers in the coatings and adhesives industry with greater flexibility and reliability.

HDI derivatives are essential building blocks for high-performance polyurethane coatings, adhesives and sealants. They are used in a broad range of applications, including automotive coatings, protective coatings for infrastructure, marine coatings, wood furniture, electronics and other demanding industrial applications.

“By adding these sites in Thailand and the US, we are strengthening our regional production capabilities and improving our ability to supply customers from locations close to them,” said Thomas Roemer, Head of the Business Entity Coatings and Adhesives at Covestro. “Reliable supply, regional availability and technical expertise are critical for our customers, especially in a challenging market environment. This acquisition helps us deliver even better on those needs.”

The two sites complement Covestro’s existing production network for HDI derivatives in major regions including Europe, Asia and North America. The additional capacities will further enhance Covestro’s ability to respond to customer demand and support long-term growth in high-performance and more sustainable coatings and adhesives applications.

“Strong customer relationships are built on trust, reliability and the ability to deliver value over time,” said Monique Buch, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. “This acquisition strengthens our position in a business where customers count on us for consistent quality, regional supply and application expertise.”

The acquisition follows Covestro’s earlier acquisition of the Resins & Functional Materials business from DSM and continued investments in organic growth, underlining the company’s commitment to the coatings and adhesives industry.

The initiative was launched in May 2024 and successfully certified by the end of 2025. Covestro Thailand’s Managing Director formally received the certification on April 1, 2026. Covestro achieved verification across all three emission scopes: Scope 1 (direct emissions), Scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased energy), and Scope 3 (indirect emissions across the value chain). Notably, Scope 3 remains voluntary, and only a limited number of organizations in Thailand have been able to comprehensively collect and analyze carbon data from upstream to downstream operations.

This project marks a significant milestone in the company’s sustainability journey. The path to success involved overcoming several challenges, including establishing carbon footprint data collection for the first time, where existing data formats and reports were not initially designed to support greenhouse gas calculations. Additionally, Scope 3 assessment presented considerable complexity, requiring extensive collaboration with external stakeholders and coordination across multiple internal departments.

Ms. Nisa Suttipornphaisankula, Managing Director of Covestro (Thailand) Co., Ltd., stated: “Developing our organizational carbon footprint is not merely about compliance—it is about building a critical foundation of data and management systems for the future of our business. We recognize the importance of starting today to prepare for evolving expectations from customers, partners, and global environmental regulations.” “Our ability to cover Scope 1 and 2, and the more complex Scope 3, which requires collaboration across the value chain, along with achieving both CFO and ISO 14064-1 certifications, reflects a robust system aligned with both national and international standards. We see this as a vital foundation for our future business operations”, she added.

Looking ahead, the company has outlined a roadmap toward its “Road to Net Zero” goal for Thailand. In 2026, the plan is to implement Phase 2 of its solar rooftop project, alongside ongoing energy conservation initiatives and systematic greenhouse gas management. The company is also aligning its emission reduction strategies with Covestro’s global targets and aims to maintain continuous CFO certification with TGO in the coming years to further strengthen sustainable carbon management practices.

In addition, this year, Covestro’s Map Ta Phut production site in Rayong was recognized by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) as a “Sustainability Network Factory” under the “Sustainability Network Factory Enhancement Project,” highlighting the company’s role in driving sustainability within the industrial sector.

The launch and signing ceremony took place at Covestro’s Map Ta Phut production site, attended by Covestro executives led by Nisa Suttipornphaisankula, Managing Director, and Chaiyut Changjenrob, Map Ta Phut Site Manager, along with school administrators, teacher from partner school, representatives from the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, tripartite committee members, and Covestro team members. A key highlight was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Covestro and five schools: Wat Chak Louk Ya School, Wat Ta Kuan School, Wat Krok Yai Cha School, Ban Nong Fab School, and Wat Map Chalut School, reaffirming the commitment to collaborate throughout the project. The event concluded with a group photo symbolizing the strong partnership and shared vision for sustainability.

This program is more than a CSR initiative— it reflects Covestro’s commitment to supporting the tripartite network and meeting Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements. At the same time, it helps strengthen trust and relationships with local communities. By working closely with schools, we create meaningful opportunities for engagement and demonstrate that Covestro is a responsible and caring neighbor. These efforts enhance the company’s reputation and reinforce our long-standing presence in the region.

For Covestro employees, Green Guardians is also an opportunity to volunteer, share expertise, and develop new skills—from project coordination and community engagement to sustainability education.

Samaporn Ubonban, Principal of Wat Chak Luk Ya School, added:
“With the collaboration of Covestro, teachers, students, and all stakeholders, we are confident that the ‘Green Guardians’ project will create positive and lasting impacts for our youth and community. We are ready to support every activity Covestro organizes to equip children with the knowledge, understanding, and skills they need to care for the environment responsibly. We sincerely thank Covestro for initiating this project.”

The Green Guardians project aligns with Covestro’s global vision “To make the world a brighter place” and supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• SDG 4: Quality Education – Enhancing environmental education and resource management skills
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities - Building sustainable communities starting from schools and families, extending to the wider community.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – Promoting awareness and behaviors that help mitigate climate impact
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Strengthening collaboration between business, schools, and communities for sustainable outcomes

Nisa Suttipornphaisankula, Managing Director of Covestro Thailand, shared:
“Covestro’s community engagement focuses on two key pillars: education and the environment, aiming to create lasting positive impact. Our approach emphasizes meaningful collaboration—not just assistance, but strong partnerships between the company, schools, and the community. We thank all stakeholders, including school teams, local authorities, and Covestro employees, for making this project a reality.”

This launch marks more than just a CSR activity—it is an investment in the future of youth and communities, working together to build a society that values environmental responsibility and is prepared to meet sustainability challenges ahead.

This initiative integrates academic knowledge with real-world industry experience through a variety of activities, including expert-led lectures, off-site field visits, and hands-on workshops. Covestro has supported the learning journey throughout the program, offering insights from its experts and organizing field trips to Covestro’s production center in Map Ta Phut and local communities in Rayong.

In addition, students were given the opportunity to showcase their potential through the Creative Design for Sustainability Contest 2025, which challenged participants to develop concepts based on circularity. Covestro sponsored a total of 60,000 THB in scholarships for the contest, which attracted over 50 submissions.     

A panel of esteemed judges, comprising faculty members and Covestro professionals, selected three outstanding projects based on creativity, practical feasibility, alignment with sustainability principles, and the effectiveness of their presentation and communication.

The Best Design Award – Winner was presented to “Coral Wave”, a project by architecture students inspired by marine life struggling with plastic pollution. The design features an experiential space with physical barriers that simulate the challenges sea creatures face in polluted environments. It aims to raise awareness about plastic waste and coral bleaching, while using recycled plastic bottles as the primary material—demonstrating circularity in action and contributing to waste reduction. The Design Excellence Award – 1st Runner-Up went to “Reform – Plastic Waste into Wearable Art”, created by students from the Communication Design program. This project transforms plastic waste into artistic accessories, reflecting the idea of turning discarded materials into meaningful, wearable design. The Distinction Award – 2nd Runner-Up was awarded to “Second Nature”, another project by architecture students. The design features a modular structure that can be folded and easily relocated, incorporating reused plastic bags that have been cut, woven, and reshaped into sunshades. Installed in the faculty’s central courtyard, the piece explores the relationship between nature and human impact through its interaction with wind and natural light.

All three winning projects received scholarships sponsored by Covestro, with prizes of 20,000 THB, 15,000 THB, and 10,000 THB respectively. In addition, several recognition awards were granted, each accompanied by a 5,000 THB scholarship.

“Sustainable design is a core focus of our faculty, as our students will one day shape the built environment. Through this collaboration with Covestro, they gained valuable insights into circular design, material selection, and carbon footprint reduction—skills essential for responsible architecture,” said Asst. Prof.Waraluk Pansuwan, the Dean of SOA+D, KMUTT. “we’re grateful to Covestro for their support in enriching our curriculum and inspiring our students to turn ideas into real-world solutions.”

Khawissara Wattanapisit, Head of Corporate Communications - Covestro Thailand added, “this collaboration is more than just a competition—it’s a platform to shape future leaders in sustainable design. By working closely with KMUTT, we’re helping students connect classroom knowledge with real-world impact, ensuring they’re equipped to drive change in their communities and industries.”

This initiative reflects Covestro’s global commitment to sustainability, which is embedded in its vision to become fully circular. Through innovation and collaboration, Covestro aims to reduce environmental impact across industries and empower future generations to build a more resilient and resource-efficient world. We believe that great design doesn’t just shape spaces — it inspires change, drives impact, and builds a better future.

This project replaces diesel vehicles with five new electric trucks in a first phase for the transportation between Covestro's facility and Katoen Natie warehouse in Rayong. With this, Covestro Map Ta Phut site becomes the first among Covestro sites in the Asia-Pacific region to use electric bulk trucks. Starting from July 2025, the shuttle trips, covering more than 200,000 kilometers annually will be performed by electric vehicles (EVs).  The transition is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions around 400 tons per year, equivalent to the environmental impact of planting 20,000 trees.

The initiative reflects Covestro’s and Katoen Natie’s long-term partnership and shared environmental goals. By integrating electric trucks into their daily operations, they are actively contributing to a cleaner, more sustainable future.

“The transition to clean energy is a cornerstone of our sustainability strategy,” stated Kenny Van der Beken, CEO at Katoen Natie Services (Thailand) Company Limited. “These EV trucks, combined with other initiatives such as solar panel expansion and electric forklifts, will help us achieve a 33% reduction in CO₂ emissions across our operations.”

To achieve scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions goal - net zero tons of CO₂ by 2050, Covestro is scrutinizing every part of its supply chain. Cutting indirect emissions from both upstream and downstream activities is essential for this goal, as these sources account for approximately 80 percent of the company's overall emissions footprint.

"This partnership between Covestro and Katoen Naties demonstrates our tangible commitment to reducing emissions across our entire supply chain. The project aligns with Thailand's sustainability goals and creates a scalable solution that could be implemented across other Covestro operations globally", added Chaiyut Changjenrob, Site Manager - Covestro Map Ta Phut site, Covestro (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

As part of the next steps on green logistics journey, Covestro is exploring the feasibility of implementing a standalone electric pellet conveying system at the Covestro Map Ta Phut site to replace the current diesel-powered system.  This initiative, developed in close collaboration with Katoen Natie, represents a strategic move to reducing emissions across our logistics operations. Through dedicated partnership with Katoen Natie, Covestro is advancing its sustainability agenda while maintaining economic efficiency.

"The new production facilities are equipped with state-of-the technology to enable an efficient production and thereby reduce our CO₂ emissions," says Thorsten Dreier, Chief Technology Officer of Covestro. “With the expanded capacity, we can meet our customers' growing demand for innovative specialty films, especially in medical technology, in the region Asia-Pacific and strengthen our Solutions & Specialties segment."

Covestro has been operating a production facility for Specialty Films in Thailand since 2007. The range comprises polycarbonate films from the Makrofol^® range and Bayfol^® products made from polycarbonate blends. These high-performance specialty films are used in many applications across multiple industries, such as healthcare, mobility and Identification Documents.

“The new production facilities are important to us because it enables faster time to market and at the same time expands our market access in Asia-Pacific.” says Aukje Doornbos, Global Head of the Specialty Films business entity. “With market-focused innovations and a stronger customer orientation we want to drive growth for Covestro.”

Since 2022, the Map Ta Phut site is ISCC PLUS certified, enabling it to manufacture and supply mass-balanced products. With the mass balance approach, bio-based or recycled raw materials are fed in at an early stage of raw material extraction and mathematically allocated to the finished products. This saves fossil raw materials and reduces CO₂ emissions, while the quality of the mass-balanced products remains identical to that of purely fossil-based products. With this drop-in solution, manufacturers can continue to use their proven formulations, equipment, and processes.

ISCC is an internationally recognized sustainability certification for biomass and bioenergy. The standard covers all stages of the value chain and is used worldwide. Customers can use these products in their established processes and apply them to meet their sustainability goals. In addition, Covestro already offers a range of films made partly with plant-based raw materials or partly from recycled plastics.

“We provide materials that help to facilitate a more climate-neutral and circular world. The products to be manufactured at our new plant in Shanghai are an excellent illustration of this, as they will assist our customers in meeting the increasing demand for renewable energy solutions,” says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer at Covestro. “In doing so, we are supporting the growth of an industry that is vital for preserving our climate. Furthermore, we are promoting sustainability in various industries by supplying materials containing renewable attributes.”

The polyurethane elastomers systems produced in the site can be used for a variety of end products. For offshore windpower, the protection of subsea cables is a core application area. The material is also used in the manufacturing process of photovoltaic panels or in screening medias in the mining industry. In all of the above, it is designed for purpose in close collaboration with customers to withstand even the harshest of conditions thanks to its excellent wear, tear and abrasion resistance.

“We want to support the growth of our customers and partake in the growth of key industries. As we expect the Elastomers market to grow above China’s gross domestic product, we want to enable our customers to capture it. That is what we do with our overall investments into our Elastomer business, and with this investment in our new plant in Shanghai right now,” said Dr. Thomas Braig, Head of the Business Entity Elastomers.

The new plant is the latest addition to the Covestro Integrated Site Shanghai (CISS), Covestro’s single largest production site worldwide. CISS is now home to twelve plants. Since 2001, the company has invested about 3.7 billion Euro into the site as of the end of 2022.

Holly Lei, President of Covestro in China, said, “Our company’s vision of becoming fully circular and our target of being operationally climate neutral by 2035 are perfectly aligned with China’s ambitions to be carbon neutral before 2060. The products we produce in CISS and this addition of polyurethane elastomers systems position us to make meaningful contributions to sustainability efforts in China and in the entire region, for example in the area of renewable energy generation.”

CISS is also among Covestro’s ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) certified sites. This means it is capable of supplying customers with drop-in, mass-balanced materials derived from renewable attributed products, thereby helping customers to reduce their carbon footprint. To make more sustainable products easier to distinguish, Covestro introduced the suffix “CQ”. CQ stands for “Circular Intelligence” and identifies products containing a minimum of 25 percent alternative raw materials.

"With this investment, we are strengthening our Solutions & Specialties segment and are committed to further expanding our growth businesses," says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. "At the same time, we are responding to an increasing demand and supporting the expansion of future technologies and industries."

"We want to drive growth in the polycarbonate films business with innovation and a strong customer focus," says Aleta Richards, Global Head of the Specialty Films segment. “In doing so, we aim to intensify our collaboration with customers in the Asia-Pacific region and expand our product portfolio for the circular economy.”

Expanded range of films made from alternative raw materials

Covestro already offers a whole range of more sustainable PC films, for example mass-balanced grades certified to the internationally recognized ISCC PLUS standard. Raw materials for these films are produced using biowaste and residual materials, which are taken into account in the value chain and in production and attributed to the products.

Since 2022, the Map Ta Phut site has also been ISCC PLUS certified, enabling it to manufacture and supply mass-balanced products. Customers can use these products in their established processes and apply them to meet their sustainability goals. In addition, Covestro already offers a range of films made partly with plant-based raw materials or recycled plastics.

“This CSR project is part of Covestro’s wider ambition to create additional value for the society. With the learning center the company aims to contribute to supporting Thailand on its journey towards the circular economy in full alignment with the company’s commitment to environmentally-friendly production.”

“Young generation is one of a crucial driver to transform our world to become more sustainable in the future. Therefore, we really need to seed the sustainability and circularity mindset to the children and Covestro is committed to support this in everyway we can as our company’s purpose is “To make the world a brighter place”, said Dr.Timo Slawinski, Managing Director of Covestro (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Sustainability is a core element of Covestro’s mission and an integral part of its strategy. As a company which lives and breathes innovation and wants to grow with products and technologies that benefit society and reduce the impact on environment, Covestro sets sustainability targets which extend beyond its immediate operations , for example, the company aims to become climate neutral by 2035 and want to become fully circular along the value chain. This commitment to sustainability goes beyond declarations and has been confirmed in many projects in which Covestro has been able to realize trailblazing ideas.

The company is promoting its commitment by expanding the basis of raw materials, continuously optimizing the production process in all the plants, and enabling its customers to design their production processes in a more efficient and sustainable manner. Almost all innovations by Covestro follow the aim of bringing together the economy and environmental aspects to benefit the environment and support customer’s business success.

In its operations in Thailand, Covestro also adheres to sustainable production and demonstrates its sustainability stance. Its Map Ta Phut site fully supports the global sustainability agenda with multiple initiatives. For example, the company is now using biodiesel instead of gasoline in its on-site logistical operations. By switching to this clean-burning alternative fuel generated from renewable resources, the company reduced its carbon footprint along the value chain. The production site can now apply mass-balanced approach which is certified by international organization - ISCC PLUS to produce the products for almost entire site. The company is also currently planning to apply renewable energy in manufacturing processes with the expected benefits of reducing water and air pollution.

“We believe in the growth of the cast elastomers market and want to meet the increasing demand. With this new production plant, we achieve a significant improvement of our global infrastructure and strengthen our presence for high-performance elastomers in the Asia-Pacific region,” says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer at Covestro. “This investment also allows us to better serve our customers, improve our customer service and it supports the growth of applications and industries with high-end performance requirements.”

“The start up of our Map Ta Phut plant is the latest step of several investments in our Elastomers business to support the Vulkollan^® brand,” explains Thomas Braig, Head of the Business Entity Elastomers. “We firmly believe in the strong potential of this historic and well-known brand and are prepared, with this investment, for its future growth and the development of its customers.”

“Our Map Ta Phut site in Thailand has been well prepared to grow and is now proud and ready to contribute to the Elastomers business while supporting Covestro's overall strategy to strengthen its Solutions & Specialties segment," added Dr. Timo Slawinski, Site Manager Map Ta Phut.

The new plant in Thailand now employs more than 25 people. The elastomers produced from the raw material are suitable for a diverse range of applications: from forklift wheels, roller coaster wheels to couplings and seals for the engineering industry, among many others. The product is one of the most powerful elastomers on the market. Its superior durability, stability and thereby lowered maintenance requirements are among the key features of the material and make it a material of choice for ever more customers and applications.

"We are very pleased that Map Ta Phut is another major Covestro production site to be certified according to ISCC PLUS," says Timo Slawinski, Managing Director and Head of the site. "With this, we are continuing to drive forward the replacement of fossil raw materials with alternative precursors." The company received its first shipment of the mass-balanced raw materials phenol and acetone from an Asian supplier in August, producing its first batch of biocircular ISCC PLUS-certified polycarbonate in Map Ta Phut very recently.

The certificate enables Covestro to supply a wide range of mass-balanced products such as Makrolon^® RE plastics and Makrofol^® films at the cross-segment site, which have a significantly lower carbon footprint than fossil-based products. The first-mentioned plastics are part of the CQ family of circular intelligent solutions from Covestro. With the new CQ concept, the company is highlighting the alternative raw material base in its products, giving a clear indication to customers looking for such products.

In the mass balance approach, for example, bio-based or recycled raw materials are fed in at an early stage of raw material extraction and mathematically assigned to the finished products. This saves fossil raw materials and reduces CO₂ emissions, while the quality of the mass-balanced products remains identical compared to purely fossil-based ones. With the drop-in solution, customers can continue to use their proven formulations, equipment, processes and specifications. At the same time, Covestro supports them in meeting their sustainability goals.

In addition to Map Ta Phut, Covestro's sites in Shanghai, Changhua, Leverkusen, Dormagen, Krefeld-Uerdingen, Antwerp and Filago have already been certified to the ISCC PLUS standard.

Dr. Timo Slawinski, Managing Director of Covestro (Thailand) said, “Covestro’s mission is to promote innovation and growth with profitable products and technologies that benefit society while reducing the impact on the environment. We would like to pass over value and sustainability to our future generation, therefore, we make every effort to align our vision on the direction of circular economy. By creating new ideas and innovations that benefits to reserving and making most use of the natural resources that is being scarce, bringing them back to the loop, reducing impact from plastic wastes and promoting reduction of greenhouse gas emission throughout the value chain.

In March, Covestro announced our 2035 Climate Neutrality Target, therefore, our campaign, “Hands for a Brighter World” shares a common vision and goal with the “Bangkok Magic Hands” project. This initiative comprises two of Covestro’s core values together: commitment to safety and sustainability, enabling us to turn waste into value. The results are road sweeper personal safety devices – high-visibility suits made from recycled plastic bottles - for the BMA and the Map Ta Phut Municipality.”

Ms. Khawissara Wattanapisit, Head of Communication ASEAN Covestro (Thailand), said, “The Hands for a Brighter World project is one of the latest social activities to reiterate Covestro vision for sustainable business operations under the circular economy concept to protect our limited resources. We are committed to minimizing our carbon footprint seriously to reduce the impact on climate change which, in turn, creates opportunities for future generations in the long term. This project is an outstanding example of collaboration among multiple stakeholders who are aware of the problems and working together to reduce the plastic waste problem. This collaboration not only promotes sustainability at the community level but also contributes to national and global levels. To achieve our common targets, one hand or party cannot succeed on its own, but collaboration is needed – this is where the project name stems from."

Mr. Wirat Manassanitwong, Director of the Department of Environment, BMA, revealed, “The BMA top environmental policy is to achieve Net Zero greenhouse emissions and this is well supported by the private sector, hence the creation of this network. The BMA currently encourages the private sector to collaborate on 4 types of activities: renewable energy, green zone expansion by tree planting, waste reduction & management, and traffic management. Recently we organized Earth Hour in March as 1 of 190 countries around the world to switch to electricity at night to raise awareness of energy conservation. We are also campaigning waste pollution prevention with 17 districts on the Chao Phraya river, aiming to reduce littering in the river, and have so far held activities in 3 districts.

At present, a number of corporations have volunteered to plant trees in BMA public areas or requested the BMA to arrange for areas in support of the BMA Governor's 1 Million Tree Planting Policy. The "Bangkok Magic Hands" project" is a collaboration of several parties with the BMA acting as the middleman in arranging for locations where donors can contribute. We are pleased that Covestro offer plastic waste sorting stations that are attractive and interesting to the public which helps promote actual waste sorting from all. We plan to use some of the collected PET bottles, upcycle them into PPE, and if they are can achieve existing safety standards and comfort requirements, then we will offer them to our road sweepers."

Covestro is among the leading global polymers manufacturers with a vision to create a better world by driving a circular economy and optimizing the utilization of resources. We produce plastics sustainably, drawing on the benefits of alternative raw materials and renewable energies. To realize our vision we are committed to reducing plastic wastes and airborne emissions, as well as improving waste management. Moreover, we strive to innovate new technologies to recycle discarded products and materials and turn them into raw materials once again.

Covestro in Thailand is committed to raising environmental protection awareness among the youth through the regular organization of educational activities and the publication of educational materials. This includes the booklet series titled "Bright Minds for a Brighter World" for primary schools in Thailand to educate the importance of waste sorting under the circular economy concept. We also organize workshops for teachers on environmental management both in Bangkok and Rayong.

The Covestro Innovation Design Contest 2021 (IDC 2021) had announced the winners from the finalist teams which their ideas for “EV Charging Station” under the theme “Recharge to a Fully Circular Way” are all innovative. creative, sustainable and possible to develop it for real application. Covestro (Thailand) joined hands with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to give the opportunity for undergraduate students nationwide showcased their ideas and innovative creativity to win the prize and scholarship all worth over 185,000 Bath. In this final round, the judge panels are from various organizations including Mr. Warit Rattanachuen, Assistant Governor - Project Management Office from EGAT, Mr. Pichit Pongprasert, Head of EV Commercial Business from EGAT, Mr. Channarong Kaenthong, Vice President of the Architect Council of Thailand. Experts from Covestro, Ms. Khawissara Wattanapisit, Head of Communications – ASEAN and Mr. Chaiyut Changjenrob, Polycarbonates Plant Manager, were also on the judging committee.

Dr. Timo Slawinski, managing director of Covestro (Thailand) Limited gave the opening remark in the final round pitching and award ceremony “Covestro organized this campaign for 3rd consecutive year with the aim to drive innovative ideas for the new generation of youth and being a part to develop our communities and society to be more advance while promoting sustainability at the same time. The competition theme for this year is very interesting and challenging to encourage students from nationwide to show their ideas on innovation that support the future trend on mobility. The design contest for EV charging station really comes at the right timing when the world and country is moving towards the EV cars and vehicles. For Covestro, we are driving towards sustainable future as well as putting a lot of efforts on reducing carbon footprint in all of our value chain which also fully align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We strongly believe that the challenges are the key to widen more opportunities for us to collaborate on new innovation developments that could lead us to move forward sustainable world. Although, the IDC is a small part that help to promote innovation thinking which is driven by sustainability, we believe that this small effort together with many others organizations will be able to contribute to our sustainable world and future and to ensure that we hand over pleasant living space and society to our future generation”.

“I would like to congratulate the winning teams and express my gratitude for everyone’s efforts to recognize the problem, find solution and present us with the great design for EV charging station which is the theme of this year. I wish to see more and more of the great innovative ideas in the future from all students and importantly thanks to EGAT again to share the same goal and jointly support this campaign” added Dr. Timo.

Mr. Warit Rattanachuen, Assistant Governor - Project Management Office from EGAT, also stated “Electric vehicle application trends are playing a significant role all over the world, including in Thailand. We are all trying to figure out how to make the world more sustainable. The competition theme in this year of IDC 2021 is very useful to the societies” “Designing electric car charging station’ ideas from all contestants will help promote and convince people to interest in switching to electric cars which use clean energy and also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the occurrence of climate change around the world. This is the world's benefit that students being a part of that” mentioned Mr. Warit.

The 6 finalist teams showcased their ideas and potential for addressing the current challenges. Their creativity and innovative “EV Charging Station” designs fulfilled the judging committee’s scoring criteria, while the outstanding presentations of each team were second to none, greatly impressing the judging committee. The “KMUTT CHARGING STATION” project by students from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) won the prize with 80,000 baht in scholarship as well as a trophy and certificate.

The first runner-up was “DENETOL” team by students from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) awarded with 50,000 baht in scholarship as well as a trophy and certificate and the second runner-up, “Camellia Charging Station” team by students from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) ) awarded with 30,000 baht in scholarship as well as a trophy and certificate.

Furthermore, three honorable mentions were given to “ECO-FRIENDLY MINI EV CHARGING STATION” team from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), “Power Treecharg” team from Maejo University and “Green Tower Station” team from King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB) awarded with 5,000 baht in scholarship. There was also a Popular Vote prize of 10,000 baht which was awarded to “DENETOL” team by students from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT).

“With this additional production line using state-of-the-art technology, we are investing in future growth in the Asia-Pacific markets, which are very important to us," says Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Covestro. "At the same time, we are responding to the rapidly growing demand for specialty films in this region and are supporting the expansion of promising technologies and industries.”

More intensive customer service

Dr. Thorsten Dreier, Global Head of Specialty Films, sees advantages in customer service: "The new production line is important to us because it enables faster market launches and at the same time expands our market access in Asia-Pacific. Our most important goal is to intensify our cooperation with customers in the region and to increase our efficiency. We intend to drive growth in the plastic film business with innovations and a stronger customer focus.”

Covestro has been operating a production facility for specialty films in Thailand since 2007. The range comprises polycarbonate films from the Makrofol® range and Bayfol® products made from polycarbonate blends. The new line is equipped with the latest technology and operates very efficiently.

As a further measure in the investment program to expand film production, Covestro has already converted a coextrusion film plant in Guangzhou, China, for the future. At the South Deerfield site in the USA, the efficiency and quality of film production was also improved. The next milestone will be the expansion of films production in Dormagen, where the company is currently building up new coextrusion capacities. This project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020.