Bayer to expand biological crop protection production facility in Wismar,Germany

Bayer CropScience has announced that it plans to substantially expand its site in Wismar, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, to enable it to meet the growing global demand for biological crop protection solutions.

The planned investment includes the construction of a new manufacturing facility for biological crop protection products and the requisite infrastructure. The extension to the production capacities will be carried out in stages and is scheduled for completion by 2016 at the latest.

Furthermore, Bayer CropScience plans to consolidate its local research and development activities in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in a new building complex at the Wismar site. The total investment volume amounts to approximately EUR 18 million.

"Using biologicals is another future-oriented way of sustainably increasing agricultural productivity," said Bayer CropScience Management Board member Bernd Naaf. "The planned investment in our German site in Wismar is therefore not only a major step to strengthen Bayer CropScience's position as a leading supplier of integrated solutions to agriculture. Our range of seeds, combination of chemical and biological products and services also help us support our customers so that they can grow high-quality produce." Naaf was also optimistic that, depending on how the market develops, it will be possible to add more employees to the workforce.

At present, research into new biological solutions based on fungal spores is conducted at Bayer's site in Malchow on the island of Poel, Germany. In the future, Bayer CropScience's local research and development activities will be concentrated in Wismar.
 
BioAct™ and Contans™: biologically active against nematodes and harmful fungi

Bayer CropScience markets microorganism-based biological crop protection products that are registered in more than 30 countries around the world. Biologicals have an outstanding environmental profile and are therefore one of the four cornerstones of Bayer CropScience's integrated crop solutions, along with the choice of enhanced seeds, use of chemical active ingredients and supplementary services.

The Wismar site will manufacture the nematocide BioAct™ and the fungicide Contans™ WG, which is used primarily on fruit and vegetables in tropical and subtropical countries. Bayer has also developed a patented technology for active substance fermentation, which can be used to produce large quantities of fungal biomass and fungal spores under sterile conditions. These are then used as biological active ingredients in innovative crop protection formulations.