There is good reason to celebrate in Leverkusen. The Central Organics Pilot Plant (ZeTO) of LANXESS subsidiary Saltigo turns 50 this year. The construction of two multipurpose product lines at ZeTO has also been concluded and a neighboring active container storage area built. This container storage area has up to 16 tank container locations and LANXESS has invested approximately EUR 60 million in the project.
Exclusive manufacturing to customer requirements
Saltigo has chosen to specialize in custom manufacturing – the exclusive production of complex molecules according to customer requirements. The custom synthesis of agrochemical active ingredients and intermediates has become its largest field of activity. Customers often require several thousand tons of such substances a year. Saltigo also produces pharmaceutical active ingredients and intermediates, as well as a wide range of fine chemicals, including multi-customer products. The best-known of these is the insect repellent icaridin, which is marketed under the brand name Saltidin among others. It is the active ingredient in insect repellents from numerous distinguished manufacturers.
The Managing Director of Saltigo, Dr. Torsten Derr, is extremely pleased with how much progress has already been made in filling the order books for the new production lines. “Production will already be up and running in the new facilities by January 2018.” The additional capacities will be available at just the right time, on schedule and within budget as we had planned,” he says. Following expansion, ZeTO’s total reactor volume will be 470 cubic meters. The largest of the 75 total stirred-tank reactors has a capacity of 16 cubic meters. Capacities for solids isolation have likewise been expanded significantly.
Flexible technology as a major advantage
“Even 50 years after it was built in 1967, our ZeTO is still one of the world’s most modern and flexible multi-purpose production facilities for fine chemicals,” explains Derr. ZeTO has benefited from continuous investment designed to safeguard the plant’s standing and excellent reputation. Saltigo is the perfect partner for customers who have developed a new active ingredient and want to have it manufactured in larger quantities than is possible in a laboratory. When conducting one of these piloting projects, the chemists start off in the lab, where they develop the synthesis they need in order to manufacture the product in the desired quantity. The flexible technology in ZeTO can be combined as needed to meet requirements, using pipes or hoses to connect together plant parts.
ZeTO also makes good use of Saltigo’s production network, which includes seven more plants in Leverkusen and one in Dormagen, not to mention networking with the other LANXESS business units.
Established in 2006, Saltigo currently has some 1,200 employees and completes around 150 projects for customers all over the world every year.
“There’s no such thing as can’t at ZeTO.”
Dr. Boris E. Bosch, Head of the ZeTO
Dr. Bosch, what’s so special about ZeTO?
Bosch: “First and foremost, our outstanding team. If I had to sum up the past 50 years in a motto, it would be “There’s no such thing as can’t at ZeTO.” Even the biggest synthesis challenges are always taken on with passion, and with everyone giving their all to achieve the ultimate objective (in time and in full).”
Which technology are you particularly proud of?
Bosch: “I couldn’t possibly single out just one technology. After all, what ZeTO is all about is our ability to do (almost) anything using our wide-ranging license and the technology kit available to us. What’s more, we usually meet that promise on operational terms, too. Whether you’re talking about an organometallic reaction at -100 °C, using self-igniting reagents or manufacturing a new fungicide using elementary bromine, we can do it. I am proud of the virtually unlimited diversity of technologies that we can put to use.”
What is the biggest challenge that ZeTO has overcome?
Bosch: “There are several examples of very demanding pilot production projects that required a huge amount of input in terms of facilities and personnel. They really were the equivalent of open-heart surgery, with blockages and other economies of scale repeatedly altering processes, new equipment being added to the plant, solvents being optimized and work-up processes developed from scratch – all during production. In the end though, we overcame these challenges, too.
The expansion project we’re working on at the moment has pushed us to our limits at times. For almost two years in both plants, our staff have had to “endure” a huge construction site with all the noise, dust, cramped conditions and logistical limitations that brings. And all the while production has been running flat out. At the same time, lots of colleagues have been working really hard to plan and implement projects on top of their day-to-day business.”
