Merck KGaA has announced that it has started construction work at its Darmstadt, Germany, site on a production plant for the manufacture of inorganic salts. This will increase capacity by around 50% compared to the production lines currently being used. The company is investing around €30 million in planning, developing and constructing the plant, which will produce active ingredients and excipients, products for use in biopharmaceutical production processes, additives for the food industry and laboratory reagents. The plant is scheduled to begin operation in mid-2011, when nearly 70 employees in inorganic chemical production will move to the new facilities. The modernization measures in inorganic chemical production are part of the growth strategy for Merck's units Life Science Solutions and Laboratory Business, both within the division Performance & Life Science Chemicals. After the construction of the new materials research center, which will be opened in Darmstadt this year, this is one of Merck's largest chemical investments worldwide.