In 2005, the Fine Chemicals business unit of Lanxess Deutschland GmbH, which from the second quarter of 2006 will be managed as a standalone, wholly owned Lanxess subsidiary under the name Saltigo, was reorganised and the production facilities for small volumes at the Leverkusen site were extensively modernised.

"We have invested some €1.5 million in merging our small-volume capabilities from various facilities into two completely modernised buildings, a process which had virtually no effect on our day-to-day business and which has gone virtually unnoticed by customers. This smooth transition was important to us, as reliability in production and supply is a top priority in this business," explained Dr. Andreas Sattler, Head of the Pilot Plants of the Production & Technology department.

The small-volume centre will enable the new service-provider Saltigo GmbH, specialised in custom manufacturing, to secure favourable startup conditions in this field. Currently, around 5,000 reactions are carried out and some 300 small-volume orders are processed each year. "At the moment, we’re working at more than full capacity. And we’re already well booked up a long way into 2006," explained Dr. Sattler.