With its coal-mining history now firmly behind it, DSM was privatized in 1989,
and was listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange. Thanks to the improved
economic climate in the late 1980s, several dormant projects were revived:
research into strong fibers, for instance, begun in the 1970s, culminated in
the highly successful polythene-based fiber, Dyneema in 1988. Ambitious
innovation strategies led to new, commercially attractive products in
engineering plastics (e.g. heat-resistant Stanyl®), coatings (e.g. Desotech),
and specialty products (e.g. aromas, flavorings and other food additives). A
solid foundation was laid for an increasing focus on products and processes
with high added value: high performance materials and life science products.
So far, growth had been largely organic. DSM now pursued rapid growth in life
science products through acquisitions and joint ventures, and selective growth
in sophisticated performance materials. From 1996, the pace accelerated, as
DSM added the chemical activities of Chemie Linz to its stable, followed by
Deretil and Gist-brocades. DSM’s fine chemicals activities now generated over
a quarter of total turnover, and the company was able to offer all relevant
technologies in-house: organic chemistry, enzyme technology, fermentation and
physical separation.
As DSM moved towards its centenary, the curtain was falling on an old era and
rising on a new one…
