According to John A. Krol, president and chief executive of US chemicals giant DuPont, the company will achieve long-term growth by expanding its presence in the world“s high-growth markets, particul…
According to John A. Krol, president and chief executive of US chemicals giant DuPont, the company will achieve long-term growth by expanding its presence in the world“s high-growth markets, particularly in Europe, South America and Asia. Speaking to reporters in the United States, he said governments around the world are the key to creating conditions favourable for business investment and competition. “Large companies such as DuPont have the global reach, the scientific expertise, and the financial strength to make the technological transitions that we all know are ahead of us,” Krol said. “Governments around the world have a role to play in creating optimum conditions for resourceful companies like us that, in turn, create opportunities for employees and customers around the world.” Krol said that governments in both emerging and established markets need to work to create more favourable economic environments, such as focusing on fiscal discipline, privatising industry, and enacting sensible regulation. He said that governments need to create and maintain sound, non-restrictive trade policies; and that they need to take action to ensure the protection of patents and other intellectual property. “We can“t overemphasise the importance of intellectual property to the future of technology-based companies like DuPont,” Krol said. “If we are going to invest billions of dollars in research programmes, we must have some assurance that we will be able to realise a full return on our investment.” Krol also cited the issue of “sustainability” as one of increasing importance to industrial companies and economic planners worldwide. “We are at the point where the passing of another decade without substantial progress will have a negative impact on our ultimate ability to protect environmental integrity around the world,” he said. “To deal with the emerging tendency of governments to work cooperatively on such issues and advance global regulatory proposals, the chemical industry, in particular, must mobilise and play an active and constructive role.” Krol was joined by Joseph A. Miller, Jr., senior vice president – research & development and chief technology officer. “As DuPont becomes more global in its manufacturing capability, research will expand in support of that global reach,” Miller said. “We already have a substantial global R&D network in place. An increasing amount of collaboration in places such as China, India, Central Europe and the former Soviet Union is providing a foundation for growth in those parts of the world where growth is fastest and most explosive.” Miller said that about 15% of DuPont“s R&D is currently performed outside the US, up from 10% in the late 1980s. Miller expects this figure to approach 20% by the year 2000. Miller cited a six-point technology agenda aimed for DuPont that includes asset productivity aimed at achieving no-waste processes; annual revenue of about US$ 2 billion through new product introductions and applications developments; a wholly-new polymer platform based on new polyolefin catalyst technology announced last year; an increased focus on biotechnology; the establishment of new businesses; and fundamental discovery research. “We are active on the frontiers of plant science, genetics, catalysis and polymers and material science,” said Miller. “We intend to continue to be a leader in translating chemical and material sciences into knowledge which will improve our quality of life.”