The plant Zielitz in Saxony-Anhalt produces high-purity potassium chloride. This picture shows the production site for KaliSel.
THE INGREDIENTS
FOR SUCCESS K+S Kali GmbH is a globally recognised name in the extraction and processing of potassium and magnesium for a wide range of applications including Health Care and Nutrition, the subject of this article. In a conversation with Alexander Baart, VP and head of Health Care and Nutrition, Victoria Hattersley finds out about what makes this division unique within the group and how it is keeping pace with market trends and the regulatory challenges of this sector.
WE
all need to maintain certain levels of potassium and magnesium in our bodies in order to remain healthy, and that is where companies such as K+S Kali with its world-leading Health Care and Nutrition division come in. Producing the highest quality food grade potassium chloride and magnesium sulphate for the pharma, food and feed industries, the company strives to consistently meet the highest standards and the most stringent regulations, as we shall see. But to give some context to this division: it is still a small part of the global giant that is the K+S Group. Headquartered in Kassel, Germany, the group has a long and distinguished history in mineral extraction and processing reaching back over 150 years. The natural crude salts it mines are extracted and processed into high purity salts at its sites in Wintershall, Hattorf and Zielitz. 62 Industry Europe
The K+S Group consists of two separate business units – one salt and the other Kali. In fact, it is today the biggest worldwide producer of salt, with Kali among the biggest producers of potassium chloride. The biggest part of the group’s turnover is still accounted for by its traditional fertiliser business. The Health Care and Nutrition element of the business is therefore a small part of the group, but one that is experiencing healthy growth nonetheless. The food, feed and pharma products are produced in K+S Kali’s own, completely independent manufacturing facilities. Mr Baart begins: “This division was established four and a half years ago so we are still relatively young. K+S Kali GmbH produces 6.8 million metric tonnes of potassium chloride and magnesium sulphate per year. Of course we are working with far smaller numbers within the domain of food, feed and pharma so we are just an island within the bigger group structure and rely on it for our continued stability.
