Monsanto to expand glyphosate plant
Date:04-10-2008
Monsanto is to invest up to $196 million over the next 18 months in its US glyphosate herbicide manufacturing facility in Luling, Louisiana. The new process improvements at the facility will have the potential to increase the site's manufacturing capacity of Roundup herbicide by around 20% and the overall global supply of glyphosate by more than 10%, the company says.
"Growing global adoption of our seed products, including Roundup Ready crops, has led to increased demand for our Roundup agricultural herbicides," says Mark Leidy, executive vice-president of manufacturing at Monsanto. The company saw record sales growth of glyphosate in the second quarter of fiscal 2008.
The Luling plant expansion is expected to be completed in the first half of Monsanto's 2010 fiscal year. The project is expected to employ about 30 new people directly and result in the hiring of 300-350 staff during the construction period. In addition to the expansion, Monsanto is to undertake an energy-reduction project at Luling. It will implement a scheme to recover hydrogen, which is a by-product of the glyphosate manufacturing process.
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