Brussels-based Tessenderlo Group at its earnings call on March 23 said construction has begun at Tessenderlo Kerley Inc.’s (TKI) new liquid fertilizer plant in Defiance, Ohio, starting with the new storage area for product distribution in the local area. The company now expects the plant to be operational at the end of 2024. Back in August last year, the company was targeting first operations in the first-half of 2024 (GM Sept. 3, 2022; Dec. 31, 2021).
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.
Tessenderlo Group also reported that TKI is pushing ahead with the construction of the new Thio-Sul plant in Geleen, The Netherlands, and said the new facility is expected to be operational by mid-2024. In late August last year, the company indicated the expected start-up had been pushed back from the first quarter of 2024 to the first half of 2024.
On a separate issue, and responding to an analyst’s question at the company’s earnings call, Tessenderlo Group Chairman and CFO Stefaan Haspeslagh confirmed that despite current sanctions on Belarus and Russia, the company is not experiencing any problems sourcing potash for its production of potassium sulfate. However, he did not comment on the likely volume evolution of the group’s SOP business in 2023 versus 2022.