Scott Bader opens £2 million laboratory in France

Scott Bader’s (Wellingborough, U.K.) new, purpose-built £2 million R&D facility in Amiens, France has been opened to support the development of new advanced composite materials for key markets including land transport, renewables and e-mobility.

The product development center in Amiens will enable dedicated resource to focus on the exploration of innovative compositions to support the transition to more sustainable materials for customers. Also featuring in-house testing facilities, Scott Bader says that the laboratory will enable much closer collaboration with customers in key markets.

“Amiens has long been a flagship site for the introduction of new, complex formulated products,” Scott Bader’s CEO, Kevin Matthews, says. “It is also pleasing to see the site making major steps from a sustainability perspective. Registered to ISO 14001, it is a leader in the journey towards the Group’s 2036 vision.”

The facility is focused on reducing embodied carbon — using wood instead of steel where possible and choosing low-carbon concrete for certain elements. Demolition materials were also used to create the platform for the paving and recycled glazing was used in parts of the structure.

The building has been dubbed “The Dora Scott Laboratory” in honor of the wife of founder Ernest Bader — a forward-thinking visionary that pioneered the employee-owned business model and believed in businesses having strong social foundations. An opening ceremony led by Matthews and Scott Bader chair Paul Smith is planned for later this year.

Alongside the opening of this new R&D facility in France, the company has announced intent to invest £30 million in its flagship U.K. manufacturing site over the next 5 years and has begun production at its new £12.5 million facility in North Carolina.