Highly efficient chemistry and the sparing of resources
Italian investments are bringing them together at Zeitz Industry Park in Saxony-Anhalt
Workers make their way across the extensive site by bicycle. It is a maze of flashing lines and tubes, compact systems the height of a house, reactors, silos and boilers. And it is all there to achieve a single powder at the end of all the chemical processes: adipic acid. Cooled, dried and cleaned several times over, it could almost be powdered milk. The crystals are white, odourless and non-toxic. "Adipic acid is an important primary product for the production of many plastics," explains Jens Metzner. Metzner manages the Radici Chimica Deutschland GmbH plant at Zeitz Chemical and Industry Park which is situated in the south of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. The white powder is primarily used in the production of nylon. Known to many for its use mainly in the clothing of the 1960s, this chemical fibre is now used in weather-proof and competitive sports clothing. It also finds its way into shoe soles, foam mattresses and even toothbrushes. The adipic acid made in Zeitz is also used in the production of so-called polyurethanes, certain plastics and softeners. It can be found in airbags, as well as soft plastic dashboards. "Whatever form it is processed into, it can be found in almost every area of daily life," highlights Metzner. Metzner, who hails from Bremen, has been working at the plant in Zeitz since 1999. He has helped to make it into what it is today.
"Radici" is Italian. In the 1940s, Pietro Radici established his first textile firms in Northern Italy. These were then joined by plastics companies. From 1990 onwards, the Radici Group – which now employs around 3,500 people worldwide and has an annual turnover of around one billion Euros – further strengthened its market position in the field of technical plastics and enhanced it with the production of chemicals. A key project in this development proved to be the choice to produce adipic acid in Saxony-Anhalt. Approximately 230 million Euros have so far been invested there.
Read more about how Radici Chimica is keeping step with the future via a modern cogeneration plant for its production of adipic acid.
Since 1 May and 31 October Saxony-Anhalt showcases at the world exhibition EXPO Milano 2015 as a centre of innovation of plant research. Saxony-Anhalt will present itself as an innovative and sustainable region in the heart of Germany, rich in culture and with much to see and experience. Visitors can discover a cross-section of this diverse state, as an attractive place for business, research and tourism. The cultural highlight in Saxony-Anhalt’s activities will be the “federal state days” from 27 to 31 May.
Contact:
Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt
The economic development agency of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt
Tanja Ruedinger
Project Manager International Press & PR
Tel.: 49 391 5689976
Fax: 49 391 5689950
E-Mail: tanja.ruedinger@img-sachsen-anhalt.de
Internet: www.invest-in-saxony-anhalt.com
Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt (IMG)
IMG is the economic development agency of the German federal state Saxony-Anhalt. IMG staff provides all services related to new business sites. In addition, we are marketing Saxony-Anhalt both nationally and internationally and developing tourism concepts.
We search our site and property database with 250 industrial and trade estates for a location tailored to your needs. We provide competent and individual advice for greenfield and brownfield sites, office properties or production halls. First site information provided within 24 hours. Arrangement of site visits take place following your preliminary selection. We can advise you on public grant programmes for investments, identify potential partners and arrange meetings with them. We identify a point of contact for you with the public authorities, coordinate and carry out negotiations for you on a federal state, state district and municipal level as well as with official bodies and institutions. We were assigned by the Ministry for Science and Economic Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt to guide you as a one-stop agency through the investment process.
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