15 firms interested in Bayer’s Norwich site

Interest from potential buyers for Norwich’s massive Bayer Cropscience complex on Sweet Briar Road has seen 15 chemical companies approach the agrichemical producer. (AgroNews 2011-04-06)

Bayer announced it was putting the site up for sale as a going concern last month.

Tim Green, site manager, said: “So far we have been approached by 15 chemical companies from across the world expressing some interest in our site here. This level of interest is very positive although it is very early in the process and there are many more steps to complete before the sale becomes a reality.”

The final phase of infrastructure improvement work that started in early 2010 at the site has now been completed.

In March this year a cover on the main effluent holding tank was finished and the tank has been in routine operation since early April, following commissioning of the air handling system which removes any potential odours.

Mr Green said: “We believe that this holding tank could previously have been the source of occasional bad odours and this new roof should now prevent this from happening.”

A new project will start early this year to improve fire protection measures in a number of areas, particularly aimed at personnel protection. This project is part of a £5m investment programme that the site will complete this year, which will see improvements in safety, operations and energy efficiency.

The site also reached another milestone, 2,000 days, or well over 2.5 million working hours, without an employee lost-time accident, a new record for the site.