“In 2014, we are aiming to further expand the agrochemicals segment, actively develop attractive projects in the animal health segment and strengthen business with multi-customer products. We are also looking to attract new customers from the specialty chemicals segment to our portfolio. We are setting our sights in particular on innovative companies specializing in photovoltaics, polymers and biocides,” says Wolfgang Schmitz, Managing Director of Saltigo GmbH, summarizing his plans for the year ahead. Schmitz is confident that his company is ideally placed to meet these goals. At InformEx 2014, which is being held in Miami, United States, from January 21 to 24, the LANXESS subsidiary will be presenting its comprehensive expertise and longstanding experience as a service provider.

Combining an exhibition, conferences and networking events, this tradeshow has been the leading event in North America for over 30 years offering buyers and sellers of high-quality chemicals the opportunity to develop business partnerships. “InformEx is traditionally an important trade fair for us in the United States. We hope our participation underlines the value we place on this important market and presents our company as a professional and reliable partner for custom synthesis and manufacturing,” says Jörg Schneider, responsible for marketing at Saltigo. The LANXESS subsidiary has, for example, successfully collaborated with U.S. pharmaceutical company Relypsa, Inc., based in Redwood City, California, for many years. In the run-up to InformEx the two companies signed a multi-year manufacturing and supply agreement. Among other provisions, the agreement governs the manufacture by Saltigo of a new active ingredient for patiromer.

The LANXESS subsidiary is a leading supplier of exclusive services for the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and specialty chemical industries and also offers a wide range of multi-customer products, i.e. non-exclusive synthesis modules. “Even with non-exclusive fine chemicals, customers can rely on our many years of expertise in synthesis, consistent product quality and high reliability of supply. We can also assist with the registration of new substances and provide support for everyday production operations,” adds Schneider. Saltigo develops and markets multi-customer products in the areas of polymer additives, fragrances and aromas, and electronic and cosmetic intermediates, among others.

Integrated development and planning of production processes

The extensive know-how in implementing technical customer requirements and developing and optimizing custom-made processes is one of the reasons why high-profile companies in many countries around the world choose Saltigo as a full-service supplier. Some 10 percent of the company’s employees work in process development, tasked with developing the optimal synthesis strategy taking aspects such as cost, speed and reliability into account. Saltigo’s multi-purpose plants boast a broad technology portfolio that can also handle complex requirements including low temperatures down to minus 100 degrees Celsius, high pressures and the management of demanding reagents. This makes it possible to perform organometallic reactions and use hydrogen fluoride or phosgene safely and reliably.

“Our expertise repeatedly enables us to break new ground using syntheses that are often more streamlined than conventional routes, enabling us to cut costs, protect the environment and give our customers an edge on their markets,” explains Dr. Jörg Mohr, head of Process Development at Saltigo. “Most of our plants are located at our site in Leverkusen, Germany, allowing us to act quickly and flexibly,” he adds.

He is particularly proud of the pilot plant with separate high-pressure technical unit, where reactions can be performed featuring pressures of up to 400 bar and temperatures of up to 450 degrees Celsius. It can also handle hydrogenations under operating conditions at temperatures of up to 350 degrees Celsius.

In the process engineering laboratory of Saltigo in Leverkusen reactions are tracked using calorimetric and online spectroscopic methods (process analysis technology, PAT) during the process development.

In the distillation laboratory, processes are developed by downscaling operational distillation processes in columns with up to 80 theoretical stages.

A dedicated flow chemistry laboratory with ART^® plate reactor is available for developing continuous production processes. Here, in cooperation with LANXESS’ Innovations group function, liquid or liquefied gas reactions (20 bar) are developed – up to a technical scale of 20 liters.

Saltigo thus places great emphasis on mini plants equipped with double-jacketed reactors to work in conditions that mimic real-life scenarios. “Using automated and recipe-managed mini plants helps us identify up-scaling-relevant data under realistic operating conditions as early as possible,” says Mohr. Saltigo is increasingly drawing on statistical methods for the design of experiments (DoE) and for multi-variate data analysis. “This way, many new insights can be gained from using only a few methods, thus speeding up the process from laboratory to industrial scale,” he explains.

At the InformEx “Exhibitor & Technology Showcase” on January 21, Mohr will be giving a presentation entitled “Introduction to Saltigo – A reliable partner for all industries”, which will focus on the company’s portfolio of services for process development.

Saltigo GmbH is a leading supplier in the field of custom synthesis. The company of specialty chemicals group LANXESS belongs to the Advanced Intermediates segment, which achieved total sales in 2012 of EUR 1,674 million. Saltigo, headquartered in Leverkusen and with production facilities in Leverkusen and Dormagen, employs around 1,200 staff worldwide.