Covestro invests in renovations, technical upgrades to U.S. HQ

Covestro LLC (Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.) is investing more than $40 million in a series of modernization and technical upgrades across its nine-building headquarters in Pennsylvania.

Covestro, a supplier of high-quality polymers, has called its campus in Pittsburgh home since 1958. The site, which employs roughly 700 people, functions as the business headquarters for the North American region and is one of Covestro’s three global research and development hubs — the others being Leverkusen, Germany and Shanghai, China. Covestro develops tailor-made PUDs, continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites, recycled thermoplastic resins and more for a wide range of industries and applications.

“We are committed to the U.S. market as a whole and to Pittsburgh as our North American headquarters,” says Samir Hifri, chairman and president of Covestro LLC. “These enhancements to our headquarters and R&D facilities set the stage for long-term growth in the U.S.”

The investments are intended to:

• Renovate Covestro’s existing polyurethane R&D facilities, creating new laboratories.
• Upgrade equipment and machinery to better serve customers in key industries, such as automotive and construction.
• Refresh the campus look and feel in line with the company’s focus upon sustainability.
• Modernize office facilities to strengthen collaboration and workplace culture.

“This represents the largest R&D investment in our facilities in Pittsburgh for decades,” says Anna Clark-Emerick, Pittsburgh site manager at Covestro LLC. “We recognize that our employees and our customers are two of our most important stakeholders, and, through this investment, we can positively impact them both.”

Additionally, given that the construction industry represents almost 20% of Covestro’s business, the company has incorporated its own materials and its customers’ products in many aspects of the campus retrofit, including roofing insulation, interior and exterior paints and more.

“We consistently see our customers creating the most innovative and sustainable products in their fields, and it is incumbent upon Covestro to make sure we lead the way in the materials sector to help ensure our customers’ success,” says Hifri. “One way we will support our customers is through achieving our own ambitious sustainability goals and our vision to become fully circular, and the investments we are marking in Pittsburgh will help us reach those targets.”

The current phase of improvements to Covestro’s North American headquarters are expected to be completed by 2026.