October 21, 2010

Evonik to build new methionine plant in Singapore

Evonik Industries intends to build a new production complex for the amino acid DL-methionine for animal feeds in Singapore.

This vertically integrated complex will produce DL-methionine and all strategically important intermediates. The integrated production complex with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes p.a. is expected to come on stream in 2014. Evonik is already today the global market leader in methionine and the new facility will raise its total production capacity for this product to 580,000 tonnes p.a. Evonik's Executive Board has now approved the conceptual and basic engineering for Singapore's petrochemicals site Jurong Island. The approval of the Supervisory Board is still pending.

"Methionine is an Evonik core business. The market is growing steadily and has proven very robust, even in the economic crisis. The planned new facility in Asia, which will be the most important market in the future, is designed to strengthen our market leadership," explained Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries AG, commenting on the approval of the engineering budget. The final investment sum will be in the mid triple-digit millions range and still has to be approved by the Supervisory Board.

"The facility in Singapore is the next step in the creation of Evonik's global production network for methionine," comments Dr. Reiner Beste, who heads the Health & Nutrition Business Unit. "We will then have a presence in all major regions - Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia - and will be able to supply our customers in the feed industry directly from local production facilities." Evonik currently produces this amino acid at four plants in Wesseling (Germany), Mobile (USA) and Antwerp (Belgium). In response to the robust development of demand, the present facilities are being expanded successively to raise total capacity to 430,000 tonnes p.a. by 2013.

Backward integration to include critical intermediates is a major advantage. "It means we can maximise delivery reliability and competitiveness for our customers. That is shown by the experience at our other sites, which also have a high degree of backward integration," says Beste.

Moreover, the facility in Singapore will be the most advanced of its kind. "Our success as market leader is built to a large extent on our technological edge," says Beste. "The new complex in Singapore will be further proof of that."

Preparations for the new complex are already advanced. "That is attributable to the excellent support we have received from the authorities and our partners in Singapore," stresses Beste. That, together with the excellent access to petrochemical raw materials in Singapore, was the main reason for the choice of site.

DL-methionine is an essential amino acid for healthy and environmentally-sustainable nutrition of farm animals, especially pigs and poultry. Demand for methionine has risen continuously in recent years. This is partly because increasing prosperity in populous emerging markets such as China is changing consumption patterns and increasing demand for meat.

The FAO forecasts that global consumption of meat will rise from 37.4 kg per person per year at present to 52 kg by 2050. At the same time, growing health awareness in the more affluent countries is leading to an above-average rise in consumption of low-fat poultry compared with other types of meat. Other growth drivers for amino acids are innovations in the field of animal nutrition. New feeding concepts that ensure more balanced animal nutrition, while optimising the use of resources and environmental impact are gaining ground. Evonik can demonstrate the sustainability benefits of such concepts through a lifecycle analysis that has now been validated by TÃœV Rheinland.