ICIG Purchases Bioethanol Plant from Clariant in Romania, Strengthening Its Biotechnology Business

Frankfurt am Main, Germany – July 30, 2024

International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) has signed an agreement with 科莱恩 to purchase the decommissioned bioethanol plant in Podari, Romania.

In the future, the site will be operated by ICIG's biotechnology subsidiary Corden BioChem. As a biotechnology CDMO, Corden BioChem already operates one of Europe’s largest fermentation plants at the industrial park in Frankfurt-H?chst, Germany.

The acquisition of the Podari site expands Corden BioChem’s aerobic fermentation capacities by approximately 1,500 m3 (gross volume). In addition, the site will provide Corden BioChem with a new capacity of 10,000 m3 for anaerobic fermentations. The size of the Podari fermenters between 300 and 2.500 m3 will allow Corden BioChem to offer large scale, cost competitive fermentation services to its customers.

As part of the reorganisation of the site into a flexible contract manufacturer for fermentation products, ICIG is planning further investments in the high double-digit million range, particularly for necessary downstream operations.

Corden BioChem plans to put the plant into operation as soon as possible after the closing of the transaction, which is subject to customary local filing requirements, and will rehire a large proportion of the employees laid off by Clariant after the decommissioning.

About International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG): International Chemical Investors Group is a privately owned industrial group with a total turnover of more than €3.6 billion. ICIG focuses on several main platforms: Fine Chemicals under the WeylChem brand, Care Chemicals (Catexel), Chlorovinyls (Vynova), Compounds (Benvic), Hydrocarbons & Solvents (HCS Group) and Enterprises with specialized businesses in sodium metals, industrial drying services, fermentation products, viscose filaments, activated carbon and wood protection chemicals. Today, ICIG companies employ more than 6,800 people and operate more than 46 production sites in Europe, India and the United States. For more information, please visit www.ic-investors.com.

About Corden BioChem (CBC): Corden BioChem GmbH is a leading contract manufacturing organization for biotech products, with one of the largest fermentation facilities in Europe. More than 70 years of experience in upscaling and large-scale manufacturing ensure the successful and reliable production of our customers’ products. CBC excels in delivering high-quality food, feed, and technical products, functional ingredients and fine chemicals. In addition to the extensive fermentation capacities, the production site in Frankfurt also offers the corresponding multi-step downstream processing plant to produce high quality proteins, enzymes, and highly purified molecules in dried or liquid formulations. For more information, please visit www.cordenbiochem.com.