Threefold potential: Evonik’s business areas

In its Chemicals Business Area, Evonik ranks among the global industry leaders. We operate production facilities in about 30 countries, in the first half of 2007 employing a workforce of some 34,000, over half of it in Germany.

Evonik’s Chemicals Business Area boasts a broad and attractive product portfolio. Our products and solutions are used almost everywhere, from automobiles, plastics and rubber to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetics, paint, sealants and adhesives industries. We are market leaders in over 80 percent of our chemical activities. And in line with our strong R&D focus, we generate some 20 percent of sales with products and technologies that are less than five years old.

In its Energy Business Area, Evonik looks back on some 70 years’ experience in coal-fired power generation, with capabilities spanning project development, financing, plant construction and operation. In Germany, we run eight power stations and are the country’s fifth largest power generator. Nationally and internationally, we have some 9,000 megawatts in total installed output. We are a full-service provider, delivering total solutions with our combined engineering and consulting expertise. Customers in Germany and abroad benefit from the technical know-how of our approximately 4,600-strong workforce (as per June 2007). With the construction and operation of power stations in Turkey, Colombia and the Philippines, we have shown how professional project development can be successfully combined with tried and trusted financing and operating approaches.

Evonik is already hard at work meeting the energy supply needs of the future. Our Clean Competitive Electricity from Coal (CCEC) technology fulfils all that is required of an ultra-modern power plant: Its resource-saving design and 45 percent efficiency make it more frugal and economic, safer and more environment-friendly than conventional power stations. We are now using this technology to build a ‘power plant of the future’ in Duisburg-Walsum, Germany. The other side of our business is renewable energy: biomass, biogas, geothermal and mine gas. We lead the German market with ten biomass power plants.

In its Real Estate Business Area, Evonik’s 60,000-plus housing units put it in the big league of private residential property companies in Germany. With a geographical focus on the Ruhr region, Aachen and the northern Rhine cities of Düsseldorf, Cologne and Bonn, we provide homes to over 150,000 people—a demanding task which we fulfil with entrepreneurial efficiency and responsibility. A large part of our success is due to the fact that our vacancy rates and occupant turnover—the market’s key performance indicators—are significantly better than the industry average. This is no accident. We attach great importance to carefully planned residential property utilization spanning the entire life cycle of a building. And we constantly adapt our portfolio to current needs, modernizing and refurbishing as necessary, tearing down where there is no other option, and building where it makes sense. Last but not least, we actively manage operating costs to keep ancillary costs paid by tenants predictable and reasonable.