All Posts from December 17, 2015

CF reports start-up of new Donaldsonville urea plant

CF Industries Holdings Inc. announced on Dec. 16 that the new urea plant at the company’s Donaldsonville Nitrogen Complex in Louisiana has been operating since Nov. 17, 2015, and has achieved consistent, stable operation. The plant has produced more than 80,000 tons of granular urea since start-up, CF reported.

“Start-up of the new urea plant in Donaldsonville is a significant milestone in our capacity expansion projects and for the future of CF,” said Tony Will, CF’s president and CEO. “Donaldsonville will play a key role as we become an even larger global supplier of nitrogen-based fertilizer. Its increased capacity, along with its unmatched logistics capability, will allow us to serve customers in North America and around the world in the most efficient way possible while providing attractive returns for shareholders.”

This is the first plant to be commissioned and started up as part of CF’s major capacity expansion projects in North America, CF said, and the first new world-scale urea plant to be completed in North America since 1998. Upon completion of the capacity expansion project, the Donaldsonville Nitrogen Complex will be the largest nitrogen facility in the world. Output for urea at Donaldsonville in 2016 is expected to range from 2.2-3.2 million product tons depending on product mix, up from an average annual product of 1.7 million tons currently.

Compass Minerals buys stake in Brazil fertilizer producer – Alert

Compass Minerals, Overland Park, Kan., announced on Dec. 17 that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase a 35 percent stake in Produquímica Industria e Comercio S.A., one of Brazil’s leading manufacturers and distributors of specialty plant nutrients.

The all-cash transaction is valued at R$452.4 million (approximately US$115.9 million at today’s exchange rate) and is subject to customary post-closing adjustments. The agreement also includes a path to full ownership by early 2019.

"We are excited to enter one of the world’s largest and most important agricultural markets with Produquímica," said Fran Malecha, Compass president and CEO. "Produquímica has a long history in Brazil and strong prospects for continued growth and margin expansion. Its wide range of specialty plant nutrients, application technologies, and extensive distribution network, are uniquely positioned to meet growers’ need for yield enhancement. Produquímica is a good strategic fit with our existing plant nutrition business, and this investment is an important part of our growth plan."

Based in São Paulo, Produquímica has eight manufacturing facilities throughout Brazil and employs approximately 1,400 workers. The company anticipates EBITDA of approximately R$180 million and revenues of approximately R$1.0 billion in 2015 from its two primary businesses – agricultural productivity and chemical solutions.

Produquímica’s agricultural productivity division manufactures and distributes a range of specialty plant nutrition solution-based products that include micronutrients, controlled release fertilizers, and other specialty supplements used in direct soil and foliar applications, as well as through irrigation systems and for seed treatment. Produquímica also manufactures and markets specialty chemicals, primarily for the water treatment industry and use in other industrial processes in Brazil.

"We are pleased to partner with Compass Minerals in Brazil’s specialty plant nutrition and chemical market," said Gerhard Schultz, president of Produquímica. "This investment from a strong, U.S.-based company allows us to accelerate our growth initiatives and benefit from the exchange of knowledge between our two companies."

Compass expects to close the transaction by the end of 2015. Upon closing, Malecha and Matthew Foulston, chief financial officer for Compass, will join the board of directors of Produquímica.