WACKER Starts Cystine Production in Spain
Munich and León, Sep 12, 2018
WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, the life sciences division of the WACKER Group, has begun producing fermentation-generated cystine at its new site in León, Spain. Over the past eighteen months, the division has extensively modernized part of the 800 m³ fermentation capacity acquired there at the end of 2016. In addition, it has built a production line for cystine. Capital spending for the site totals some €30 million. In the next few months, the plants are to be gradually qualified and ramped up to full capacity. The new site enables WACKER to meet its customers’ rising global demand. Cystine and cysteine produced from cystine are used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. WACKER currently employs more than 40 people in León.
“With our investment in the León site, we are well equipped to further strengthen our position as the global market and technology leader for fermentation-generated cystine,” said Dr. Gerhard Schmid, head of WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS, explaining the expansion measures. “The modernized fermentation plants and the new cystine production plant enable us to reliably meet our customers’ growing demand for cysteine and cystine, and to commercialize new fermentation-generated products.
Cystine and cysteine, the amino acid produced from it, are widely used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food sectors not only, for example, to manufacture flavorings and make doughs in baked goods easier to process, but also as a free-radical scavenger in cosmetics products or as an expectorant in cough medicines. WACKER is the first company in the world to produce cystine by fermentation in a patented biotech process. Due to the entirely plant-based and inorganic raw materials, WACKER cystine and cysteine are purely vegetarian. This makes them especially safe for use in food and pharmaceutical products. In 2008, WACKER was awarded the Federation of German Industries (BDI) Environmental Prize for its innovative production of cysteine.
About WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS
Using advanced biotech processes, WACKER BIOSOLUTIONS provides tailored, innovative solutions and products to the life-sciences sector – including pharmaceutical proteins, cyclodextrins and fermentation-generated cystine and cysteine. Its portfolio is also complemented by catalog chemicals, such as acetylacetone and high-quality polyvinyl acetate solid resins. The division focuses on developing customized solutions for growth sectors, such as food ingredients, pharmaceutical actives and agrochemicals.
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Fermentation León
Production plants for fermentation-generated cystine at WACKER’s site in León. The new site in Spain enables the Munich-based company to meet the rising global demand of its customers. Cystine and cysteine produced from cystine are used in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
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