Company

JUB Technology Research Centre

JUB Technology Research Centre d.o.o. was established on 1 January 2008 during the reorganisation of company JUB. It was developed from a department in the company JUB d.d. and is today one of daughter companies within the JUB group, under the auspices of the parent company JUB H.

The idea about a Technology Research Centre was born in 2007, when the development department still operated within the parent company JUB d.d. with a small number of employees as well as limited space and technological capacities. Market requirements and awareness that in the knowledge society the future of the company lies only in strong own development, dictated the reorganisation of JUB, which transformed the development department into an independent TRC under the auspices of the parent company. The main tasks of the centre are the development of products and technologies for finishing coats in construction, as well as training and education in this area, for the needs of JUB group, as well as external partners.

The reorganisation was logically followed by a decision to build a modern high-technology centre for the needs of JUB group development. In order to realise its mission, the centre needed new working conditions.

The final decision on the launch of the construction of the new centre was not easy, as in that period the economic situation and investment financing conditions were undergoing radical changes. Successful candidature of our project »Active facade system«, in cooperation with Mitol, under the tender of the Slovenian Technology Agency, contributed to an easier decision for a project which was very daring under the conditions of the economic crisis. Thus, we acquired a grant for the development work and purchase of new research equipment which is part of the new centre.

The first earth-moving works for the construction of the centre were launched on 7 March 2009 and after ten months, the development staff already moved to the new Technology Research Centre. TRC boasts a floor area of 600 m2 and is a four-storey high-technology building, which contains almost 3000 m2 of useable areas.
The building is innovative both in its interior and on the exterior. On the southern facade of the building, there is a research facade test site, which is a unique laboratory of its kind for studying thermal insulation systems in Europe. It consists of 16 test cells, intended for examination and development of micro climate conditions in buildings. It is especially important to monitor stress states, water vapour diffusion, vapour condensation in facade systems, temperature differences and the resulting heat current through the examined facade system. Monitoring and measuring of these characteristics will enable quality development of new, innovative facade systems and rationalisation of currently available solutions.

An exceptionally important acquisition for the centre is also the climatic chambers. They enable us to check the installation characteristics of products in completely random micro climate conditions, independently from the external conditions. In the chambers, we can create desired weather conditions: we select and maintain air temperature between –40 and +70 °C, relative air humidity between 10 and 95 %, wind speeds of up to 100 km/h, rain and direct solar radiation effect. This will help us develop high-quality products which will be easily installed both under normal conditions and in extreme environments.

A special attraction of the centre is »a house within a house«, a so-called demo house on a spinning base, which extends from the ground floor to the first floor. We will use it for education purposes and as a space for development and research work in our studies of advanced technical solutions. I will not try to describe it, as you will be able to see the qualities and possibilities it offers with your own eyes.

The centre also includes a newly established JUB Academy with modern facilities on the first floor. A learning test site is already available for training and education, but the demo house will be especially useful, since we can show the whole range of our products on it, as well as their proper installation and implementation of the most advanced construction details.

Chemical development laboratories take up almost half of the building and are located both on the second and third floor. Modern laboratories, equipped with the newest technology, enable fast and quality development in the area of interior and facade dispersions, wood and metal coatings, own pigmented pastes as well as development of tinting and powdery products. Support is provided by a chemical physics laboratory, which is a considerable upgrade from the former laboratory and thus represents a new milestone in the development of analytical capacities of TRC. Another innovation is our own laboratory for microbiological tests.

The building is energy-efficient as it is constructed in accordance with all the requirements for energy-saving buildings. As a short illustration, heating and cooling of the building is provided by exploiting groundwater energy, and a photovoltaic power station on the roof is envisaged for other energy needs.

The centre currently employs 35 young experts in natural sciences, mostly in the field of chemistry and construction, from technicians and engineers, to Masters and Ph.D. professionals.

In order to accelerate the transfer of knowledge and provide for a faster development of services, products and technologies, we oriented our TRC JUB activities towards cooperation with institutions of knowledge and partners from the economy. By developing new products, technologies and services, the centre will greatly contribute to the development of JUB group, as well as the whole sector in Slovenia. Development of products, technologies and services will be also reflected in the competitiveness of the sector and an increased market share outside of Slovenia.