August 12, 2014
Evonik gets green light forexpansion project in Alabama, US
The Industrial Development Authority of Mobile County, Alabama, US unanimously approved US$7 million in non-educational property and sales tax abatements for Evonik''s expansion project over the next decade, www.cnchemicals.com reports.
The Essen, Germany-based specialty chemical company plans to invest close to US$114 million in its Mobile facility.
The expansion includes the construction of a plant to manufacture a form of an essential amino acid for use as a dairy cattle feed additive. The product is currently being produced by a Croatian contractor, but an expansion of the Mobile facility would allow the company to bring its production in-house.
The project would also include production of an intermediate compound used in the production of an herbicide.
The expansion is expected to be completed by mid-2017. Existing Evoniksites in Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia are also being considered for the project.
The project by itself, is only part of the company''s investment strategy for its Mobile operations. The company also intends to transform its property within the Theodore Industrial Park into a chemical park similar to the one in Marl, Germany.
"The concept had such success in other European facilities, and we saw the same synergies here with several specialty chemicals we consider backbones in the industry," said Bonnie Tully, vice president and site manager for the Theodore operation.
The creation of a chemical park involves attracting other chemical manufacturers that supply to Evonik- as well as the company''s customers- to locate production facilities of their own at the Mobile facility in order to increase efficiency and capitalise on the infrastructure benefits.
The Mobile facility is currently the company''s largest North American production site.