Bayer CropScience to build two chemical plants in Alabama

German agrochemical producer Bayer CropScience, based in Monheim am Rhein, has announced plans for the construction of two chemical manufacturing units in the Mobile, Alabama, area. The units will produce precursor materials for use in the production of Liberty herbicide, a key component in Bayer’s innovative LibertyLink weed management technology.

The project will be a joint effort between Bayer CropScience and Evonik Industries, a global specialty chemical producer headquartered in Essen, Germany. The production will be situated at the Evonik manufacturing facility in the Theodore Industrial Park in Mobile County. Evonik will take responsibility for constructing one of the units and Bayer the other, with the resulting intermediate from the combined manufacturing being used in the production of Liberty. The project represents an overall investment at the site of more than $200 million.

Globally, Bayer is in the process of doubling its Liberty herbicide production capacity.

Construction of the two production units will take approximately two years to complete, with the start-up of production beginning in mid-2017.

Jim Covington, head of the Bayer CropScience operations in Mobile, estimates that the new units together will employ approximately 50 people once production begins.