Research Centre

The Hutchinson Research Center, located in Montargis, France, successor to the former Applied Research Laboratory (ARL), was established in 1986 near the oldest and largest of the group’s plants. Today, it employs nearly 200 engineers and technicians.

Pivotal element of Hutchinson’s Research and Development policy, the Research Center serves as not only a meeting place for innovation and exchanges, but also a vector for communication, a source of information and a forum of expertise for the group.

A center for excellence and high-technology

The Research Center is first of all a showcase of expertise of the many disciplines operating within the group. Physical characterization, chemical analysis, materials formulation, digital simulation and vibration and acoustic analysis are but a few.
With its cutting edge equipment, the multidisciplinary teams fully exploit their know-how in the form of technical assistance for the Group’s projects throughout its various businesses.


 

A vector for innovation

Three major themes guide the Research Center’s innovations: materials, products and processes.
The development of new materials is a major concern that is at the very heart of the Hutchinson Research Center’s endeavors. Without a doubt, it is what sets the Company apart from its competitors. That explains how the VEGAPRENE® families of high-performance thermoplastic elastomers were developed over the past few years, together with high-temperature resistant elastomer compounds or TEKSKIN® water-based varnish.
Product innovation efforts conducted at the Research Center are also applied to a wide variety of industrial applications everywhere from automotive to railroad equipment or even aeronautics. Examples include the development of LINKEO® flexible exhaust line hose, a high-performance uncoupling part, active or semi-active motor mounting systems, vehicle dynamic and chassis systems and, in an entirely different field, virucidal medical gloves.
Meanwhile, process control is ultimately a determining factor of product cost control. Not only does it allow for substantial savings of material used, but it also dramatically improves process automation efficiency and significantly reduces waste while strictly respecting environmental regulations in effect.
All of these projects rely on vast resources available for testing, analysis and digital simulations that provide an idea of the performances that can be expected, the ability to optimize solutions and ultimately, validate them.

Numerous partnerships

The Research Center is a veritable crossroads, highly committed in countless collaborations with the scientific community and university faculties to overcoming the technological challenges of our times.