Tessenderlo Group, Brussels, has announced that its subsidiary, Tessenderlo Kerley Inc. (TKI), plans to construct a liquid fertilizer plant in Defiance, Ohio, serving the eastern Great Lakes region. The facility will focus on the company’s sulfur-based crop nutrition brands – Thio-Sul, KTS, and K-Row 23 – as well as sulfite chemistries for the industrial markets. The plant is expected to become operational in the first quarter of 2024.
“Our investment in this new manufacturing facility will service the local community and support the increased demand in the region,” said Russell Sides, TKI Executive Vice President. “This strategic venture not only combines excellence in process technology, but also diversifies our local market position, and strengthens our sustainability goals by bringing us closer to our customers.”
In other news, Tessenderlo Group has agreed to acquire the assets of B.V. Fleuren Tankopslag, a tank storage and transshipment company for liquid products located in the Port of Cuijk (the Netherlands). The acquisition is expected to be completed by May 1, 2022, at the latest. The company said the transaction will have no material impact on the results of Tessenderlo Group.
Once the deal is completed, the Fleuren Tankopslag operations will be integrated within its Tessenderlo Kerley International business unit, which supplies value-added liquid, soluble, and solid plant nutrition products. The company said the acquisition will further strengthen Tessenderlo Kerley International’s position in the Western European liquid fertilizer market.
It said while securing the longer-term business of Fleuren’s incumbent customers, it will also provide additional storage for Tessenderlo Kerley International’s portfolio of liquid fertilizers, including Thio-Sul, KTS, and ammonium polyphosphates.
In addition, its location by the Maas River and its close connection to the new Tessenderlo Kerley International plant that is due to be constructed in Geleen, the Netherlands (GM March 26, p. 33), will allow for easier and more sustainable connections for transport of Thio-Sul via waterways into the Netherlands, Germany, and France.
Construction works on the Geleen plant are planned to start in April 2022 and the factory is scheduled to be operational in the second quarter of 2023.