Huntsman inaugurates technical centre

By David Reed, UT EditorWoodlands, Texas-Huntsman Corp. officially inaugurated its Advanced Technology Center, Friday 13 Oct., with senior managers being joined by local officials and other dignitaries as well as honours students from local high schools. The 200 000-square-foot (18 580-m2) centre cost about $60 million to build and houses the research and development activities of all six Huntsman businesses, including polyurethanes; eventually about 200 staff will be based there, mostly transferring from other Huntsman facilities in the US, most of which have been or are being closed down.Longer term, some development work from the firm's research and technology centre in Everberg, Belgium, may be transferred to the Texas unit, said Brian Pellon, vice president research and development with Huntsman, in introductory remarks during a customer visit on Sunday 15 Oct.The move represents a major shift in philosophy to more customer-focussed development work, he added, speaking to around 50 visitors touring the facility. Pellon further suggested there would be plenty of room for expanding the head count in the future, but first the existing operations-using equipment that has mostly transferred from the other sites-has to be brought up to full operational capability, he concluded."