Bayer and Evonik to build two crop protection chemical plants in US

Bayer CropScience has partnered with Evonik Industries to construct two crop protection chemical manufacturing facilities in Mobile, Alabama, US, with an investment of over $200m.

 

The production facilities will be built at Evonik's manufacturing complex in Theodore Industrial Park, Mobile County.

 

The units will produce precursor materials that will be used to create Liberty herbicide, a key compound in Bayer's LibertyLink weed management technology.

 

 

Bayer and Evonik will each build a facility and use the resulting intermediate from the operations to produce Liberty.

 

Work on the two facilities is expected to take approximately two years to complete. The units are planned to be commissioned in mid-2017, and will employ approximately 50 people.

 

Bayer CropScience global active ingredient operations head Michael van Nooy said: "Our goal at Bayer CropScience is to help shape the future of farming by providing cutting-edge agricultural innovations to deliver on Bayer's mission of 'Science for a Better Life.'

 

"The project we are announcing today is a demonstration of our commitment to that mission, and is in keeping with our global commitment to sustainable agriculture."

 

The company is currently pursuing plans to expand production capacity of its Liberty herbicide.

 

Evonik performance materials segment head Caspar Gammelin said: "The new investment in Mobile allows us to continue supporting and accompanying the growth course we've experienced in recent years with Bayer CropScience."