Saltigo, a wholly owned subsidiary of specialty chemicals group Lanxess, is significantly expanding production at its Leverkusen site. This is being made possible by a cooperation agreement with Syngenta. The manufacturer of crop protection agents and long-standing customer of Saltigo is investing some € 50 million in expanding several Saltigo facilities in Leverkusen to significantly enhance its capacity for synthesizing active ingredients for crop protection agents. Saltigo supplies the active ingredients and intermediates produced at these facilities exclusively to Syngenta and is one of the Swiss group's strategic partners throughout the world.

"This long-term cooperation underlines the enormous confidence Syngenta has in Saltigo's expertise and technology as a specialist in synthesis chemistry," said Axel C. Heitmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Lanxess, and added: "The expansion in capacity will give a major boost to Leverkusen's long-term future as a location for high-tech chemistry." 

According to John Ramsay, Syngenta's Chief Financial Officer, reliability and a relationship built on trust are of great importance for both sides. "We need suppliers we can rely on who can supply products of consistently high quality and respond flexibly to our requirements," he said. "The substantial investment here at the site shows a clear commitment to our collaboration, which already extends back more than 15 years." 

A total of three facilities for producing active ingredients and intermediates used in agriculture are being expanded. These products are manufactured using complex, multi-stage synthesis processes. The building projects, which essentially comprise the installation of new synthesis reactors, are currently being carried out while the existing systems continue to work at full capacity and are due to be completed at the end of the year. Syngenta's investment and further enhancement of the existing manufacturing process at Saltigo will enable a significant boost in capacity.