A Japanese company sets up research center at EPFL

Nitto Denko Corporation, one of Japan's largest materials manufacturers, has announced today the establishment of a research and development unit in EPFL's Innovation Square in Lausanne, Switzerland. The "Nitto Denko Europe Technical Centre" (NET) will support the work of the R&D centers the company already has in Japan, the U.S. and Singapore and will specialize in bio materials. Nitto Denko Corporation plans to take advantage of Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne's industrial and academic network to boost its research and development. The Osaka-based chemical group, a leader in specialized materials, is setting up the Nitto Denko Europe Technical Centre (NET) in EPFL's Innovation Square. Nitto Denko already has a research team in Europe, created in 2005 in Genk (Belgium) and specializing in industrial adhesive bands and a variety of materials for use in the automotive industry. From a group tied to the European subsidiary, this unit will become a separate Center in itself and move this summer into its quarters on the EPFL campus. Initially, five scientists - a number that is expected to quadruple in the next five years - will occupy the 440 square meters of the Lausanne-based center.