Gases for Emerging Markets from Saxony-Anhalt

Air Liquide is one of the biggest global providers for gases for industry, medicine, and environmental protection. The company is present in over 80 countries worldwide. The gas producer is working with over 2,000 products for more than 50 industries. A total of 4,500 people work for Air Liquide in Germany alone and generate an annual turnover in excess of €2 billion.

Air Liquide has now been associated with the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt for more than 20 years. The company temporarily took over an acetylene factory shortly after German reunification. In the course of the acquisition of Messer Griesheim in 2006, the group officially took over a factory in Wittenberg and began producing particularly pure medical gases as Air Liquide Medical. The location of Wittenberg, not far from Berlin, Leipzig, and Dresden has particular importance for the company as it enables Air Liquide so supply carbon dioxide not only to customers in eastern Germany (Air Liquide has approximately 20,000 customers in Saxony-Anhalt alone), but also in western Poland. As the previous long distance transports from production sites in the Rhine/Ruhr-area are no longer needed the new plant will also be a contribution to the environment.

Just a few hundred meters from the medical site, Air Liquide has built a second plant which was officially opened in June 2014. A total of 15 jobs were created at the new Air Liquide site. The new facility is located on the premises of the agrochemical industrial complex of SKW Piesteritz, a long-term customer of Air Liquide Deutschland. SKW Piesteritz develops chemical products for agricultural and industrial chemicals and is one of Germany's largest producers of ammonia and carbamide. Air Liquide uses the CO2 which accrues as a by-product during the production of ammonia as raw gas that is cleaned, liquefied, and then stored in two tanks that are located directly on the site. Carbon dioxide can be used in a variety of applications, e.g. to carbonate beverages, as a freezing agent in the food industry, as an inert welding gas, as part of water treatment in environmental protection, or as an agent in dry ice production. Air Liquide has invested approximately € 8 million in the modern facility for the purification and liquefaction of carbon dioxide that meets the high requirements for safety and quality in the areas of food and medicine. The annual production capacity amounts to up to 55,000 tons of CO2 in liquid form. Air Liquide also provides technical support for customer systems.

Since the initial phase, the German-wide settlement agency German Trade and Invest (GTAI) and the Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt have supported the Air Liquide project in the location decision as well as the settlement process, such as in assessing the funding or manpower, and assisted discussions with the state government and regulatory authorities.

Arno Sander, CEO of Air Liquide and responsible for internal projects, expresses a satisfied summary of the investment process: "After the initial idea was born and we were able to gain the SKW as a partner, the idea was implemented relatively quickly. Ultimately, the project was implemented relatively problem-free and without red tape. There are areas in which we invest, in which we have to put in significantly more administrative effort than here", says the project leader."

Andreas Kallies, responsible for production management of Air Liquide in Germany and Austria, also sees clear advantages in the renewed investment at the site in Wittenberg. "With SKW Piesteritz, we have a gas source from which we can obtain CO2 in reliable quality, in the right amount, with the existing infrastructure and with technologies that we know that meets the standards for foods", he explains. Furthermore, the SKW ammonia facilities, from which Air Liquide obtains raw gas for CO2 production, are virtually in walking distance.

In addition to the infrastructural advantages of settling in the Agro-Chemie Park, Air Liquide also benefits from the administrative synergistic effects between the two plants, from training activities to the induction of new employees. However, the main advantage is the CO2 that Air Liquide Medical draws directly from the carbon dioxide plant. The requirements for safety and quality are particularly high in the areas of food and medicine.