Solvay announces today that it will build a specialty surfactant plant at an industrial park in Genthin, Germany, close to Berlin. The unit will develop and produce surfactant solutions for Solvay's home & personal care and industrial customers serving Central and Eastern Europe.

The plant will produce specialty surfactants that aid in the delivery of functional performance attributes such as cleansing, dispersal, moisturizing and texturizing qualities. The unit is scheduled to be operational by the first quarter of 2014 and initial operations will add more than 30 new jobs to the existing industrial platform in Genthin.

This announcement follows several recent strategic investments by Solvay Novecare, including the completion in January of two major production expansions at its derivatized guar facilities in North America and Asia.