HANSA GROUP AG invests more than 50 million euros:
Commissioning of new
surfactants plant in Genthin
120 kilometres of cabling, around 900 pipe routes, over 35,000 hours of work on the installation of equipment and control systems, and more than 50 million euros in investment: this, approximately, is what has gone into the new surfactants plant which has now - almost exactly one year after the topping-out ceremony - been officially commissioned at Waschmittelwerk Genthin GmbH, a HANSA GROUP AG subsidiary. Some forty invited guests watched as Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Dr. Reiner Haseloff, member of the Board of Management of the Nord/LB bank Ulrike Brouzi, and two members of the HANSA Board of Management, Thomas Pfisterer and Dr. Volker Bauer, jointly performed the symbolic start-up of operations.
Trial operation of the new surfactants plant, which is designed for a capacity of 100,000 t/a, had already started in November 2011. Around 40 % of production will be used to meet internal demand within HANSA GROUP AG. "This alone demonstrates the importance of this investment in our growth strategy", affirmed production director Dr. Volker Bauer. "By continuously expanding production, we have created ideal conditions for future growth, and we can now justifiably claim to be one of Germany's leading integrated suppliers of Care Chemicals".
"HANSA GROUP AG's unswerving commitment to Genthin makes us all extremely confident of a bright future for this location. The investments made are also reflected in the number of people employed here", commented Dr. Reiner Haseloff in his welcoming speech to the guests. In his former post as minister of economics and employment, he had already provided energetic and active support for the creation of the new surfactants facility, and had witnessed for himself the progress of the work at the laying of the foundation stone and the topping-out ceremony.
Nord/LB director Dr. Hinrich Holm was equally impressed with the progress on site: "We, as the supporting bank, are extremely pleased to see such an example of sustainable development, with its positive impulses for the region as a whole".
HANSA GROUP AG, the largest single investor, took over the existing fluidised-bed installation for the production of granulates for the detergents industry in 2009 via its then newly founded Waschmittelwerk Genthin GmbH subsidiary, and now produces liquid detergents here for well-known brands and trading enterprises. This transaction alone assured the retention of some 130 jobs at the Genthin location, where the Hansa Group employed a total of 190 persons as of the end of 2011.
After a construction phase of some two years, the Genthin complex now has the capability for production of FAS (fatty alcohol sulphates for dishwashing liquids, mild detergents, detergents for wool and all-in-one detergents), FAES (fatty alcohol ether sulphates for mild detergents, soaps and dishwashing liquids), ABS (alkyl benzene sulphonates for the production of detergents and household cleaning agents) and AOS (alpha olefin sulphonates for special and industrial cleaning agents). The new facility raises HANSA GROUP's annual surfactants capacity to approximately 130,000 tonnes. Following commissioning of the new plant, HANSA GROUP, according to director Thomas Pfisterer, is now anticipating "Continuous growth in sales and beneficial effects on our margins".
Contact:
HANSA GROUP AG
Investor Relations:
Silvia Kostova
Wanheimer Str. 408
D-47055 Duisburg
Germany
e-mail:ir@hansagroup.de
Homepage: www.hansagroup.de
Enquiries concerning copy/illustrations:
Dirk Dratsdrummer
Wanheimer Str. 408
D-47055 Duisburg
Germany
e-mail: pr@hansagroup.de
Homepage: www.hansagroup.de