Press release
Corporate Press
October 26, 2015

Evonik starts up Mepron® production at the Mobile (USA) site

Evonik started up Mepron® production at the Mobile, Alabama, site in the US, today. Thus, the plant goes into service after 15 months, according to plan. Mepron® is a formulation of the amino acid methionine specially developed for dairy cows by the Animal Nutrition Business Line.

"With this investment we strengthen our position in North America as a leading company to offer innovative solutions to the market. This investment opens up new growth opportunities for the Animal Nutrition business and for Evonik in North America," says Dr. Ralph Sven Kaufmann, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Operating Officer of Evonik.

"The Unites States is our most important sales market for Mepron®," explains Dr. Emmanuel Auer, head of the Animal Nutrition Business Line at Evonik. "So, it was important for us to serve our customers out of our new own production facility." The US has the world’s largest stock of high-yielding dairy cows and produces about 12.5 percent of the world’s milk.

High-yielding dairy cows have particularly high methionine requirements. In conventional animal feeding such requirements are covered by protein-containing feeds. In contrast, the use of Mepron® in dairy cow rations allows the amount of crude protein in feeds to be reduced, with no loss of output. This in turn reduces feed costs, eases metabolism in the animals, and reduces nitrogen excretion. "In this way we’re contributing to more sustainable milk production, from which all sides benefit," says Auer.

Methionine counts among what are known as essential amino acids, which higher organisms must ingest with their food. Without adequate methionine dairy cows cannot optimally metabolize the protein in their feeds. In contrast to the situation for pigs and poultry, however, methionine must be specially "packaged" for ruminants so that it reaches the small intestine of the cow, where it can be absorbed. Without such a protective coating it would be degraded by microorganisms already in the first stomach.

Evonik’s Nutrition & Care Segment produces and markets four essential amino acids for advanced animal nutrition: MetAMINO®, Biolys®, ThreAMINO®, and TrypAMINO®. Mepron®, a protected DL-methionine for high-yielding dairy cows, and CreAMINO®, a high-grade creatine source, complete the product portfolio.

The Animal Nutrition business line translates over 60 years of experience in manufacturing essential amino acids for animal nutrition into solutions that meet the evolving needs of its customers in over one hundred countries. As we now expand our scope to innovative nutritional feed additive solutions beyond amino acids, our customers can continue to count on us to take nutrient effectiveness ever further and keep delivering value along with consistent quality. Around the planet, our products and services are and will be key to producing healthy, affordable food with fewer natural resources and a smaller environmental footprint.

 

About Evonik

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders
in specialty chemicals and operates in the Nutrition & Care, Resource Efficiency, and Performance Materials Segments. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. In fiscal 2014 more than 33,000 employees generated sales of around €12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about €1.9 billion.

About Nutrition & Care

The Nutrition & Care segment is led by Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH and contributes to fulfilling basic human needs. That includes applications for everyday consumer goods as well as animal nutrition and health care. The Segment employed about 7,000 employees, and generated sales of around €4.2 billion in 2014.

Disclaimer

In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.