Casale adds key fertilizer technologies to its portfolio

Casale SA, the Swiss global leader in ammonia, urea, methanol and melamine technologies, has acquired Borealis’ proprietary process technologies for the production of nitric acid (NA), ammonium nitrate (AN) and urea-ammonium nitrate solution (UAN), as well as other technologies for different downstream fertilizer products including granulation technology. Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. As part of the deal, Casale will collaborate closely with Borealis on further development of the process technologies. “Acquiring these excellent technologies is an important step in our strategy to expand Casale’s process design capabilities to downstream products directly linked with our traditional technologies, ammonia and urea, so that we can serve the nitrogen fertilizer industry in the most complete and integrated way” says Giuseppe Guarino, Casale’s Chief Executive Officer. “Casale Holding’s recent acquisition of the control of Chemoproject Nitrogen, a Czech engineering company that has built tens of nitric acid and nitrates plants, fits particularly well with this latest deal with Borealis. The specific plant engineering expertise of Chemoproject Nitrogen perfectly complements the process know-how we have just acquired. This means that we can now offer the fertilizer industry the most complete possible solution for nitric acid plants and their integration into nitrogen fertilizer complexes.” Federico Zardi, Casale’s Chief Operational Officer, adds: “This is much more than a straight technology acquisition. We have entered into a continuing partnership with Borealis under which the two companies will co-operate closely in the future development of these technologies. This is a partnership that combines the best of all worlds - Casale’s innovative vision and technical excellence, which are the foundation stones of our culture, Borealis’ technical and operational experience as a producer, and the inestimable benefit of having the Borealis’ production facilities in which to test new developments.” “This partnership meets our objective to partner with a global engineering and technology leader who can leverage the maximum value of this fertilizer technology portfolio,” says Hubert Puchner, Borealis Vice President Business Development Base Chemicals. “Our fertilizer operations and product development will benefit from the synergies between Borealis’ core competencies, such as the production and distribution of high quality fertilizers, and Casale’s engineering and technology leadership.” “We remain committed to growing our fertilizer business and improving the quality of our products,” comments Markku Korvenranta, Borealis Executive Vice President Base Chemicals. “Our goal is to build on our strengths in production, operations and distribution, alongside a relentless focus on efficiency, reliability and safety. Our technology partnership with Casale represents a strategic step to focus on our core markets within the European fertilizer industry, where we have ambitious growth targets.”