Kemira Oyj (Helsinki; www.kemira.com) has announced opening of what is said to be one of Europe’s largest production plants for the manufacture of water-treatment chemicals. The Tarragona plant located in La Canonja, Catalonia, Spain, also has a unit for the manufacture of sizing agents used in the pulp and paper industry.
The Tarragona plant, located at Bayer Material Science’s industrial site, is able to produce Kemira’s entire range of aluminum and iron-based coagulants that are used for drinking water and wastewater treatment: polyaluminum chloride (PAX), aluminum sulfate (ALS) and ferric chloride (PIX). It also produces some of the most widely used functional chemicals for the paper industry (AKD sizing agents).
“Kemira is always looking to ensure the cost-efficient supply of raw materials. One of our strategies is backward integration into other industries’ by-products; the Municipal & Industrial segment uses up to 70% recycled input materials. In this case we are integrated to hydrochloric acid, which is derived from Bayer Material Science’s production,” explains Antti Salminen, President of the Municipal & Industrial segment.
“Kemira has a long history in the Tarragona region due to its good location and connections to customers. The joint capacity of the Tarragona plant and the Dormagen plant in Germany, also opened recently, is instrumental in sustaining Kemira’s leadership position in the water treatment market in EMEA. The total investment in the two plants was approximately €40 million. Our competitive advantage in the water treatment sector is based on high supply reliability, speed of delivery and logistics flexibility as well as comprehensive product range and application support,” says Jari Rosendal, President and CEO.