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When and how do you develop a new product?
By Benoît Magny, Cray Valley R&D Director
« There are three main reasons for deciding to go ahead with a development: identification of a market requirement, the Company’s competitive positioning strategy, and changes in regulations.
First we check the feasibility of the development under consideration. We have to make sure that the intended product has not already been patented, that its raw materials are accessible, and that its regulatory status will not hinder its marketing.
Then the target product is defined: R&D teams conceptualise the molecule that will provide a solution to the problem. We then give shape to the new product in our laboratories in Verneuil-en-Halatte, in four key steps: synthesis, analysis, application, and pilot. This can often be a multi-step process, over several months. |
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Sequence of steps when creating a new product...
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From the design of a molecule to trial production, the following photos depict the genesis of a resin at the Verneuil-en-Halatte Research Centre.
 Step 1 > Synthesis
Once the target product has been designed and the molecule “invented” (drawn), it is synthesised in 1- to 2-litre laboratory reactors. This often complex operation follows a preliminary plan, and may require a number of trials before the desired result is achieved.
Step 2 > Analysis
The product’s chemical structure must then be verified to ensure that it complies with the initial design of the molecule. This is the role of the analysis, which must also detect any impurities and byproducts generated during synthesis.
Step 3 > Application
Application trials are designed to ensure that the resin does fulfil the functions for which it has been created. The behaviour of the new product is closely examined under a wide range of conditions. This phase can often lead to adjustments being made to the initial molecule.
Step 4 > Pilot production
By this stage, the product has demonstrated that it does comply with the intended end-use, but it still cannot switch directly to the industrial phase. This is because carrying out a chemical synthesis in a small vessel at a fairly consistent temperature is one thing, but producing it in a reactor with a capacity of tens of cubic metres is quite another… Hence the importance of the pilot process (using a 60-litre reactor in Verneuil-en-Halatte). This will reveal any behavioural modifications linked to the scaling-up from the laboratory process, so that the new product’s industrial manufacturing process can be fine-tuned.
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