Evonik To Expand Its Methionine Capacity Appreciably

• DL-methionine core business reinforced
• Global number one position firmly anchored

Evonik Industries is further expanding its global production capacity for the feed additive methionine. The company will boost its capacity according to a stage concept, which involves coordinating the expansion of methionine and raw material capacities among the sites in Antwerp, Belgium; Wesseling, Germany; and Mobile, Alabama, USA. The additional capacity will be available stage-wise from 2011 through to 2013. This will increase Evonik's global capacity to 430,000 metric tons.

DL-methionine is an essential amino acid that is used in healthy and environmentally friendly nutrition for farm animals, especially poultry and pigs. Evonik is the world leader for DL-methionine in both market share and technology.

"The amino acids business is a strategic core in our chemicals portfolio. With this investment, we’ll anchor our leading position worldwide in a profitable market, using the business unit's technological and global sales strengths," says Dr. Klaus Engel, chairman of Evonik’s Executive Board.

"Market growth remains largely unaffected by the global financial crisis. The world's population continues to grow, giving rise to a new middle class whose eating habits are changing. This is fueling demand," adds Engel.

"We want to be, for the long run, a reliable and efficient partner to the nutrition industry. We are committed to supply our customers with a vital raw material for producing healthy, environmentally compatible, and cost-effective animal feeds. In our global integrated production facilities, we’re always optimizing our position and use the latest process-engineering innovations," explains Dr. Reiner Beste, who heads Evonik's Health & Nutrition Business Unit, which produces the methionine.

Evonik is the only company in the world that produces and markets all four essential amino acids for advanced animal nutrition: DL-methionine, Biolys (L-lysine), L-threonine, and L-tryptophan. In over 100 countries of the world the company delivers innovative services and products, and contributes to customer´ profitability while enabling healthy and environmentally friendly animal nutrition.