Speciality chemicals SKW

SPECIALITY CHEMICALS

SKW is the largest producer of urea and ammonia in Germany, with a product portfolio that covers a wide range of specialities for agrochemistry and industrial chemistry. Julia Snow introduces a modern company that is experiencing increased international demand.

SKW Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz GmbH was founded in Wittenberg in 1993, as a subsidiary of Bavaria-based SKW Trostberg AG. However, in the Piesteritz region the chemical tradition stretches back as far as the year 1915, so the company benefits from decades of experience as well as its centralised location directly on the Elbe, its nearness to the capital city of Berlin and the excellent road and rail networks.

Over the years, the plant has been subject to ongoing investments and continuous expansion, and last year the company obtained renewed certification according to DIN EN ISO 14001, EMAS, DIN EN ISO 9001, OHSAS 18001 and FAMIQS for fodder urea.

In September 2011, a special highlight was the replacement of a massive, 11-metre cigar-shaped piece of apparatus, which had

been used for urea synthesis. After 36 years in operation it had been working for longer than any other unit like it in the world.

Research facilities

SKW has at its disposal one of the largest research facilities in the medium-sized chemical industry. More than 50 staff work with excellent technical equipment in the fields of chemical research, agricultural application research and analytics. Their expertise and know-how, such as in the development of innovative fertilising systems, is sought after by many companies, institutes and laboratories worldwide, from well-known chemical institutes in neighbouring Berlin and Potsdam to the Academy of Sciences in Shenyang, China. The question of how to reduce ammonia emissions in agriculture, for example, was researched together with renowned universities in a project spanning several years, supported by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research.

Innovation in agricultural applications

SKW products make an important contribution to the growth of plants and animals and the profitability of farms. Farmers need an extensive range of first-class fertilisers to ensure optimum plant nutrition, as well as professional advice on correct and professional use. They also require feed urea, as an effective and low-cost source of nitrogen for ruminant animals.

With an innovation rate of more than 30 per cent, SKW’s chemical research engineers have an above-average level of success in achieving significant advances. Any new agrochemical products are subjected to many series of tests regarding environmental friendliness, yield contribution and labour savings.

Field trials on over 170 hectares help to develop practical application recommendations for the use of fertiliser, from nitrogen losses, through weather influences and fertilising strategies, right up to food quality and crop productivity. The results are made available to farmers in an advisory service, through sales staff, at specialist conferences and within the context of the annual SKW field days.

Industry use

To the industry, SKW is known as a competent and reliable supplier of process chemicals, such as ammonia, urea and nitric acid. The company’s specialist products are found in many areas of daily life: amino resins act as an additive for the surface improvement of child-safe paints, others form part of the microencapsulation that allows the sampling of a new perfume scent by rubbing a magazine page. Others reduce emissions, like the NOx reduction agent, AdBlue® for the reduction of vehicle exhaust gases, or denitrogenisation agents for cleaning incineration gases in power plants and industrial facilities.

Logistics excellence

More than two million tonnes of quality products are shipped from Wittenberg to customers throughout the world each year. Extensive transport capacities are available, with efficient facilities in rail and road dispatch including the company’s own 180-metre port on the Elbe river.

On average 186 HGVs are loaded per day; goods in large quantities are automatically dispatched and the computerised loading stations for the filling of liquid fertilisers and bulk goods are equipped with a calibratable net weighing station. For the range of fertilisers alone, there is a capacity of nearly a quarter of a million tonnes, half of which is distributed in a decentralised manner at various locations throughout Germany.

Chemistry for the future

Building capacity through staff development and training is one of SKW’s key principles. The local chamber of commerce has certified the company as a top-apprenticeship provider, for its range of 3.5-year apprenticeships in six different courses from training chemists and lab technicians to administrative and mechanical/engineering careers. The company is a part of the ‘Ausbildungspakt Wittenberg’, a cooperation of schools, employers, job centres and parents that promotes excellence in vocational training.

The increasingly international market for fertilisers is showing increases in demand – in Germany alone the use of fertiliser has gone up from 1.6 to 1.8 million tonnes in 2010/11. At the same time political unrest in North Africa, Asia and Libya is affecting production, and supplies from China are expected to reduce further. Urea prices are likely to rise in the future, providing a stable market environment for the company.

The company’s motto, ‘Chemistry for the future’, is not an empty phrase – rather, it is a central self-image to safeguard the company and the quality of life for today and tomorrow. n