Bayer expands Wismar site

Bayer CropScience has begun expanding its facilities at its site in Wismar, Federal State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany this week. The company will invest roughly €18 million for the construction of a manufacturing plant for biological crop protection products and supporting infrastructure, as well as a  building where the company’s local research and development activities will be consolidated. The R&D facilities will be ready in 2015, and the rest by 2016.

The new facility will produce the nematocide BioAct and the fungicide Contans WG, chemicals applied on fruit and vegetables in tropical and subtropical countries. Bayer has also developed a patented technology for active substance fermentation, which can be used to produce large quantities of fungal biomass and fungal spores under sterile conditions. These are then used as biological active ingredients in innovative crop protection formulations.

“Using biologicals is another future-oriented way of sustainably increasing agricultural productivity,” said Bayer CropScience Management Board member Bernd Naaf. “The planned investment in our German site in Wismar is therefore not only a major step to strengthen Bayer CropScience's position as a leading supplier of integrated solutions to agriculture. Our range of seeds, combination of chemical and biological products and services also help us support our customers so that they can grow high-quality produce.”