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 and Technology department.

Buildings Q2 and Q17, which together with part of the ZeTO (Central Organics Pilot Plant) form a new operating unit with the name "Plant 5", now incorporate four different core areas of expertise for the small volume business.

This 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.