December 10, 2012
Evonik completes L-lysine capacity expansion in North America
Press release
The expansion of capacity for the L-lysine plantin North America in autumn 2012 was successfully completed by Evonik Industries.
Production capacity at the Blair site in Nebraska, USA, was doubled to 280,000 tonnes per year in two stages. The biotechnology product L-lysine, which Evonik markets under the Biolys？？ brand name, is considered worldwide to be an extremely effective source of lysine in animal feed.
"After a very short ramp-up time, the facility is now running at almost full capacity and more efficiently than ever," said Reiner Beste, Evonik''s Health & Nutrition Business Unit head. "This enables us to make an important contribution to meeting the growing demand for Biolys？？ in the US and facilitate need-based, healthy, cost-effective nutrition of pigs and poultry."
The expansion was celebrated in Blair on December 6 with all of the site''s employees, the project team, and Evonik''s partner Cargill, which provides the site infrastructure and supplies Evonik with raw materials. The project was supported by the US State of Nebraska and the City of Blair.
"Evonik is also working to further expand capacity by around 200,000 annual tonnes of Biolys？？ in Brazil and together with partners in Russia. Both of these facilities are scheduled to go on stream in 2014. Work at these sites is progressing as planned," explained Walter Pfefferle, head of Evonik''s Bioproducts Business Line.
Biolys？？, a biotechnology product made from renewable resources, is globally known as a highly effective source of L-lysine for animal feed, which helps to sustainably reduce cost in feed production and animal breeding. It also benefits the environment: In a life-cycle analysis certified by T？？V Rhineland, Evonik has documented that protein supply in animal feed that is supplemented by Biolys？？ is a particularly environmentally sound concept for the adequate, healthy nutrition of animals.