Clarivate Analytics has just published its Top Global Innovators 2017 ranking. For the seventh time in a row, Saint-Gobain has been included in the 100 most innovative companies and institutions in the world, based on four patent-related metrics: the total number of patents, the number of patents granted as a ratio of patents filed, the global scope of the portfolio of patents, and the impact of patents measured by the number of references. 

 

“This acknowledgement of the quantity, quality and impact of our patents is recognition of the priority Saint-Gobain has placed on innovation and R&D over the past years. In order to continue to provide our customers with new and differentiating solutions, we file more than 450 patents each year, thereby strengthening our lead position on our markets,” said Armand Ajdari, Vice President, Research & Development and Innovation, Saint-Gobain. 

 

R&D at Saint-Gobain is supported by 3,700 employees, a global network of eight cross-business research centers and numerous dedicated R&D units for a total investment of €438 million in 2016. With more than 900 R&D projects in progress, Saint-Gobain has a pool of innovations that allows it to launch many new products every year. One out of four products sold today by the Group did not exist five years ago.  

 

In addition to specific R&D projects in each Activity, Group R&D supports, through specific programs, the many efforts to reduce carbon emissions and to develop expertise and projects in three major areas:

• materials and processes

• building sciences

• the digital transformation and associated emerging technology.