Donau Chemie lays cornerstone of new FeCl3/PAC water purification chemicals plant at Kazincbarcika

10/26/2012 Production facility to promote Eastern Hungary as CEE water treatment chemicals hub.

Donau Chemie AG, with its Hungarian subsidiary Donauchem Kft., today held the official cornerstone laying ceremony for its new FeCl3/PAC (ferric chloride/polyaluminium chloride) plant at the Kazincbarcika site of Wanhua-BorsodChem. The new site, Donau Chemie’s first production facility in Hungary and the latest phase in the company’s continuing commitment to developing the Hungarian chemicals sector, is planned to commence operation in April 2013, and to underpin a production and distribution initiative to make Hungary a water purification chemicals industry hub.

The new FeCl3/PAC plant is being built at the Kazincbarcika site of Wanhua-BorsodChem, China’s biggest investment in Central and Eastern Europe, and will process hydrochloric acid by-products from Wanhua-BorsodChem’s new TDI-2 facility into environmentally friendly water treatment chemicals. Donau Chemie won the contract to provide this capability in a competitive tender process. The new plant represents an initial investment of EUR 6.4 million, and will employ some 25 people on completion, as well as some 50-60 workers during its construction. Once operational, it will produce 75,000 tpy of FeCl3 and 30,000 tpy of PAC. Its output will be marketed through Donau Chemie’s distribution network in Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, the Ukraine and beyond, as well as in Hungary.

The Donau Chemie Water Technology family of products provides water purification and treatment for both drinking water and waste water, as well as public spas and swimming pools. Due to the European Union’s 2008 Environmental Quality Standards Directive (EQSD), requiring Central and Eastern European members to meet water cleanliness targets by 2015, demand for these chemicals is expected to soar over the next few years. The new plant is intended to create a Hungarian export hub for water treatment and environmental purification chemicals.

“Our new water purification chemicals plant demonstrates our ambition to become a leading manufacturer, distributor and exporter of water treatment chemicals across Central and Eastern Europe from our production base in Kazincbarcika,” said Franz Geiger, CEO of Donau Chemie AG. “We have been in operation in Hungary since 1994 as Donauchem Kft., and the new site is the latest phase in our continuing commitment to develop the local chemicals sector. We are proud to have won the tender with Wanhua-BorsodChem for this downstream production capability, and are glad to join them in building the strategic chemicals cluster in North-Eastern Hungary.”

Mr. Geiger laid the cornerstone for the new plant alongside Mr. Ding Jiansheng, Chairman and President of Wanhua-BorsodChem, whose Kazincbarcika facility provides the base and the feedstock for the new Donau Chemie plant.

“Wanhua-BorsodChem is glad to see these developments,” said Chairman Ding. “We are committed to the buildout of the chemicals industry in North-Eastern Hungary, and are pleased and proud to act as a basis for downstream businesses, whether local or international. We expect to see even more investment in the region and the sector in future.”

“This new plant will create a Hungarian export hub for water treatment and purification chemicals, allowing these ecologically valuable chemicals to be produced locally and exported across Central and Eastern Europe, as well as to other destinations,” said Mr. Balázs Hidvéghi, Deputy State Secretary for External Economic Relations at the Ministry for National Economy, representing Hungary’s central government at the event. “This investment demonstrates the government’s foresight in maximizing Hungary’s advantages as a key logistics and export hub for the CEE region.”

“The new plant in Kazincbarcika builds on the heritage of chemicals technology and expertise in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County and the strong industrial base of North-Eastern Hungary,” added Dr. Roland Mengyi, Chairman of the General Assembly of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. “These investments exemplify the industrial revival of North-Eastern Hungary, as international companies take ever greater interest in our capabilities and strengths, and our unique position.”

Donau Chemie AG has operations in Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, and the US. Its Hungarian subsidiary Donauchem Kft. has been in operation since 1994, with an entirely Hungarian workforce. The new Kazincbarcika site is just one of its planned developments in Hungary.