SGL Group sponsors professorship for TU Munich

"SGL Group Sponsored Chair for Carbon Composites" created

Prof. W. A. Herrmann (Präsident der TU München), Dr. Hariolf Kottmann (Vorstand der SGL Carbon AG)

24.08.2007, Press releases

The SGL Group – The Carbon Company – today arranged with the Technical University of Munich to establish a chair for carbon fibers and carbon fiber composites. The Chair has initially been set up for eight years and will be funded by the SGL Group for a total of €4.8 million.

Working in close cooperation with the faculty chairs for mechanical engineering, chemistry, physics and IT, the "SGL Group Chair for Carbon Composites" will be dedicated to the comprehensive analysis of carbon fiber-based materials and their processing as well as construction and calculation procedures. This is intended to generate a deeper understanding of the entire value chain from raw material through carbon fibers and the textile product as well as material through to the finished component.

The Technical University of Munich is an internationally recognized research university that has earned itself an excellent reputation in the worlds of science and business for natural and engineering sciences in particular. By establishing this sponsored chair, the SGL Group and TU Munich are laying the foundation for long-term, interdisciplinary cooperation in the future field of carbon fibers and carbon fiber-reinforced composites. As a result, the Garching research site in Munich will also benefit from a research focus on "Carbon Composites" and a "Center for Carbon Composites" (CfCC).

The world markets for lightweight building materials based on carbon fibers are currently developing extremely quickly. As the only European manufacturer of only eight carbon fiber producers in the world, the SGL Group is further expanding its global position with considerable investments. As part of the structure of the global business of SGL Group’s "Carbon Fibers & Composites" (CFC) Business Unit, which has production facilities in Scotland and the US, a material future area of focus lies in Germany: in-house production of the polyacrylic nitrile raw material (precursor) for carbon fibers at the Kelheim location near Regensburg, which is critical to success, as well as the ongoing and planned investments in carbon fibers and composites at the Meitingen/Augsburg location. SGL Group has also bundled its global R&D activities at its Meitingen site. Setting up a chair at TU Munich in Bavaria is therefore a key component of the corporate strategy of further expanding the SGL Group's R&D activities as part of the local value chain within the Carbon Fibers & Composites Business Unit.

TU München:
Munich University of Technology (TUM) is one of Germany’s leading universities. It has roughly 420 professors, 8,500 academic and non-academic staff (including those at the university hospital “Rechts der Isar”), and 22,000 students. It focuses on the engineering sciences, natural sciences, life sciences, medicine and economic sciences. After winning numerous awards, it was selected as an “elite university” in 2006 by the Science Council and the German Research Foundation (DFG). The university’s global network includes an outpost in Singapore. Munich University of Technology is dedicated to the ideal of an entrepreneurial university.

About SGL Group – The Carbon Company
The SGL Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of carbon-based products. It has a comprehensive portfolio ranging from carbon and graphite products to carbon fibers and composites. SGL Group’s core competencies are its expertise in high-temperature technology as well as its applications and engineering know-how gained over many years. These competencies enable the Company to make full use of its broad material base. SGL Group’s carbon-based materials combine several unique properties such as electrical and thermal conductivity, heat and corrosion resistance as well as high mechanical strength combined with low weight. Due to the paradigm shift in the use of materials as a result of the worldwide shortage of energy and raw materials, there is a growing demand for SGL Group’s high-performance materials and products from an increasing number of industries. Carbon and graphite products are used whenever other materials such as steel, aluminum, copper, plastics, wood etc. fail due to their limited properties. Products from the SGL Group are used predominantly in the steel, aluminum, automotive, chemical and glass/ceramics industries. However, manufacturers in the semiconductor, battery, solar/wind energy, environmental protection, aerospace and defense industries as well as in the nuclear energy industry also figure among the Company’s customers.

With around 30 production sites in Europe, North America and Asia as well as a service network covering more than 100 countries, the SGL Group is a company with a global presence. In 2006, the Company’s workforce of 5,250 generated sales of € 1.2 billion. The Company’s head office is located in Wiesbaden/Germany.

Corporate Communication Center TU München:
Dr. Ulrich Marsch
Phone: +49-89-289-22778
Fax: +49-89-289-23388
e-mail: marsch@zv.tum.de
Internet: http://www.tum.de

Public Relations and Internal Communications:
Stefan Wortmann
Phone: +49 611 60 29 105
Fax: +49 6 11 60 29 101
e-mail: stefan.wortmann@sglcarbon.de
Internet: http://www.sglcarbon.de

Kontakt: presse@tum.de