Saltigo to relocate headquarters and focus on agchem

LANXESS subsidiary Saltigo GmbH is relocating its corporate headquarters from Langenfeld to Leverkusen. In September, the company’s workforce of over 100 will be moving into what used to be LANXESS’s headquarters (K 10) at the CHEMPARK site. “The arrival of our fine chemicals specialist Saltigo will strengthen and further expand the Leverkusen site as LANXESS’ most important location worldwide for the megatrend of agriculture,” says Werner Breuers, member of the Board of Management of LANXESS AG.

“Saltigo’s headquarters needs to offer the best possible conditions to enable the company to continue efficiently steering its growth trajectory,” he adds, explaining the reasons behind the move. “We will create these conditions by having the new main administrative center in the immediate vicinity of research and production operations,” Breuers continues.

“Targeted investments will also ensure that Saltigo continues to enjoy an optimal position in the dynamic custom manufacturing market,” explains Wolfgang Schmitz, Managing Director of Saltigo GmbH. The company plans to invest a total of up to EUR 100 million in its business with agricultural active ingredients in Leverkusen through 2015. Saltigo will be spending around one fifth of this amount on creating additional capacities for solids isolation at four facilities. “Once again this year, we have a great many projects in the pipeline. Customers in our key business area of agrochemicals in particular are currently expecting the positive market trends to continue,” says Schmitz.

Agricultural business has a rosy future

With Saltigo’s relocation to Leverkusen, LANXESS is strengthening its most important location worldwide for the megatrend of agriculture. The manufacturing portfolios of no fewer than 17 of the 43 LANXESS facilities based at this site, accounting for a total workforce of around 1,400, include products that are used in agriculture following further processing. Custom manufacturing specialist Saltigo produces active ingredients for insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and insect repellents here. Advanced Industrial Intermediates manufactures a wide range of high-quality intermediates that are used, among other things, for agrochemicals and feed additives. And the activities of Functional Chemicals include color coding treated seeds. This is done to distinguish between certain types of seeds, to help stop them being eaten by birds, to improve the stability of the formulation and to provide a filler.

With these and other products, LANXESS plays a key role in making modern agriculture more productive and sustainable. The company’s agricultural business already accounts for around 10 percent of its sales. And the prospects for the future are looking good. It is estimated that the global agrochemicals market will grow at an annual rate of three to four percent due to an increasing world population, greater prosperity in growth markets and fewer cultivation areas. “In the future, it will be important to optimize crop protection using a variety of methods and through highly targeted use of cutting-edge active ingredients so as to increase yields in limited areas and conserve resources,” explains Schmitz.