SCHOTT Group

Innovations are a significant factor for growth and adding value. More than 600 highly-qualified employees at SCHOTT work in the fields of central research and technology development and in business units concentrating exclusively on innovation.

For many years SCHOTT has looked beyond its traditional core competencies of special glass types and glass ceramics to include other special materials, composites and technologies. Increasing the focus on components and system solutions has allowed for combinations between glass with its advantageous properties and other materials. The core competence area of coating technology is gaining importance. For instance, innovative absorption layers on key components of solar thermal power plants ensure the efficient use of solar radiation. Functional protein-rejecting high-tech coatings on drug packaging provide optimal protection for highly sensitive pharmaceutical products.

The scope of current research topics reflects technological progress and market development, including a new generation of lightweight safety glasses, materials and coatings for harnessing solar power, glass ceramics for faster, environmentally friendlier cooking and transparent ceramics used in lenses, laser technology and medicine.

Research and technological developments usually take place across various locations. SCHOTT maintains one of the world's leading institutes for glass research, The Otto Schott Research Center in Mainz, which offers a comprehensive analytic and measurement engineering service. Customer-oriented application centers in North America, Europe and Asia provide support for preliminary research and projects within the scope of the research and technology platforms for Solar, Pharma and Home Tech. Cooperation with more than 150 partners from research institutes and universities in Germany and abroad, including the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, where the company's international headquarters is located, provide further innovative impetus to SCHOTT's research.