Novacarb will open a new 50,000 tonnes per year sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) production unit by the end of 2010 on its industrial facility, Laneuveville-devant-Nancy in France.

Besides its specialised soda ash production, Novacarb also produces and sells a wide range of sodium bicarbonate-based products which are used in many different applications such as animal feed, food, pharmaceutical and detergent.

In order to provide high-quality products as well as a wider range of services, the company has initiated an ambitious development programme, estimated to total EUR15 million (US$20 million) over 3 years from 2008-2010, geared at meeting the increasing demand in sodium bicarbonate and derivatives.

As a first step it opened end 2008, a new second Novafeed sodium bicarbonate production line and improved early 2009 the existing Bicafeed unit in order to achieve a production capacity of 60,000 tonnes/ year for the different sodium bicarbonate grades.

The second step will involve building an additional sodium bicarbonate production unit with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes/ year. The commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2010.