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2009
July
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Starting from 1 July 2009, the business operations of fertiva and parts of the COMPO professional business are merged into a new company, K+S Nitrogen. In doing so K+S positions itself even better in the attractive fertilizer market and open up new options for growth. In future, next to fertiva products, K+S Nitrogen will also market the ENTEC® and the sulphate-containing Nitrophoska products previously distributed by COMPO. |
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April
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K+S Aktiengesellschaft announced that it has come to an agreement with Rohm and Haas, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company to acquire Morton International, Inc. (Morton Salt), one of the leading producers of consumer, industrial and de-icing salt in North America. Closing for the transaction which values Morton Salt at an enterprise value of USD 1.675 billion is expected by mid year 2009 following receipt of the required approvals from antitrust authorities. |
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2008
September
With an investment and operating concept for the construction of a new potash plant, the K+S Group is participating in the invitation to tender of the Querfurter Mulde / Bad Bibra potash deposit near Roßleben. The company presented to the owner of the corresponding mining property, the Gesellschaft zur Verwahrung und Verwertung von stillgelegten Bergwerksbetrieben mbH (GVV), a concept with which an investment of more than EUR 600 million could create about 700 permanent jobs in the region.
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The Deutsche Börse AG has decided to include K+S Aktiengesellschaft in the DAX®. Starting from 22 September 2008, K+S is the first commodities stock to be listed on the most important stock exchange index in Germany. |
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JulyK+S reorganisates its nitrogenous fertilizers business. The business model for the COMPO and fertiva business segments is due to further development. The objective is to position the K+S Group in the attractive fertilizers sector even more strongly and to open up new growth opportunities. The reorganisation essentially aims to group within one company the nitrogenous fertilizers sold by fertiva with the ENTEC and sulphur-containing NITROPHOSKA products previously sold by COMPO, starting from 1 January 2009. |
May
The Annual General Meeting of K+S Aktiengesellschaft approved to carry out a share split in the ratio of 1 to 4. Given the price achieved in the meantime, the aim is to make the K+S share available to an even wider circle of investors and to further increase the liquidity of the share. The Share split took effect on 21 July 2008.
2007
September
K+S Consulting GmbH has sold its wholly-owned stake in biodata ANALYTIK GmbH, Linden with immediate effect to Intertek Group plc, London. Intertek, with its 15,000 employees and revenue of about € 900 million is one of the world's largest analytics and testing companies and, with the acquisition of biodata, will improve its regional presence in Germany. The K+ S Group will also in future cooperate with biodata in the area of analytics.
March
The Kassel Regional Council has granted BKB AG, Helmstedt, permission to build a waste incineration plant at the Wintershall site in Heringen. This is a major contribution to the consolidation of the potash industry and to the protection of its 4,200 jobs on the Werra and Ulster rivers. The cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy from the new plant should make a considerable portion of potash output in Heringen independent of the rising costs of natural gas, and at the same time contribute to the conservation of valuable fossil fuels for the sake of the environment.
2006
July
The K+S Group’s fertiva GmbH, Mannheim, and the chemical concern Lanxess AG, Leverkusen, are to continue their cooperation with a long-term contract for the supply of ammonium sulphate. At the same time, fertiva is to invest EUR 5.4 million in the Laxness site in Antwerp to enable it to offer its customers two different grades of ammonium sulphate fertilizer in the future.
June
The acquisition of the Chilean salt producer Sociedad Punta de Lobos (SPL) by K+S Aktiengesellschaft was concluded on 29 June 2006. With the acquisition of South America’s biggest salt producer, which was already agreed upon last April, K+S is assuming a new role in international salt business.
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AprilK+S signed the agreement to acquire Chilean salt producer Sociedad Punta de Lobos S.A. (SPL). On the back of a debt-free enterprise value of US$ 480 million, K+S will purchase 99.3% of the shares of SPL for a purchase price of US$ 477 million (just under € 390 million). SPL is South America's largest salt producer and achieved operating earnings of more than US$ 48 million on revenues of about US$ 350 mil-lion in 2005. |
2005
Oktober
K+S resolved to buy back its own shares. The resolution was based on the authorisation granted by the Annual General Meeting on 11 May 2005. By the end of the year, 1,250,000 shares, i.e. just under 3 percent of the share capital, are to be acquired and then cancelled. At the current share price, this corresponds to just over EUR 70 million. Under the current authorisation, the K+S AG Board of Executive Directors retains the right to make further repurchases corresponding to up to 10 percent of the share capital.
SeptemberCOMPO announced that it has entered a broad partnership agreement with Syngenta, one of the leading manufacturers of plant protection products. The two companies will develop and market a comprehensive range of plant protection and pest control products for the consumer lawn and garden market in Europe, excluding Switzerland where both companies will continue to operate independently. |
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JuneIn the second half of 2006, the energy company E.ON plans to start building a thermal power station for secondary fuels at the Wintershall (Werra) site. It will burn up to 230,000 tons of pre-segregated domestic and industrial waste each year from the end of 2008. The resultant steam will provide reliable power for the Wintershall power station and will also be used in potash production. |
2004
October
K+S has acquired the distribution and production capacity of France's SCPA, Mulhouse. The transaction means that K+S will acquire SCPA's customer base and trademark rights from state-controlled group EMC) as well as the equity interests held by SCPA in four regional fertilizer companies. The potash granulation business operated by CCW in Alsatia is also being taken over. The companies and sites that have been acquired employ about 100 people and will operate under the business name K+S KALI & SCPA France S.A.S. along with Kali und Salz France S.A.R.L, as well as combined into a wholly-owned K+S Group subsidiary.
Launch of sylvinite extraction at the K+S Werra plant. The launch of sylvinite extraction at Unterbreizbach, within the Hattorf/Wintershall mining complex, will tangibly enhance the competitiveness of Werra plant, which contributes over 40 percent to the total output of K+S KALI GmbH. K+S has completed the EUR 40 million project in less than two years since the ratification by Thuringia und Hesse of the state treaty that was needed. As of 2005, it should lift annual earnings by up to EUR 20 million.
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JuneOn 09.06.2004, K+S Aktiengesellschaft, Kassel, and Solvay S.A., Brussels, signed an agreement whereby K+S will acquire the remaining 38 percent interest in Europe's leading salt provider, esco - european salt company. The joint venture, which was established two years ago and to which K+S and Solvay contributed their respective production and marketing organizations, developed very positively from the outset and has already managed to realize various cost synergies. |
March
esco is establishing its own distribution company in Sweden. The new company will be called esco Nordic AB and will operate from Gothenburg. esco supplies the Swedish market with de-icing salt, industrial salt and salt for chemical transformation, while the sister company K+S KALI GmbH distributes potash and magnesium products for industrial applications.
February
K+S intends to acquire from Solvay SA, Brussels, the 38 percent stake held by the latter company in esco, the salt joint venture. This was agreed by the two companies in a letter of intent. Further negotiations concerning the details of the share transfer will start up very shortly. The aim is to give the transaction retroactive economic effect from 1 January 2004.
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JanuaryCOMPO has bought Humuswerke Gnarrenburg Friedrich Meiners AG. North of Bremen, Meiners AG possesses extensive deposits of raw materials that are particularly well suited for processing into high quality COMPO products. Production capacity at the plant, where about 100 people are employed, ideally complements the structure of COMPO needs related to the production of COMPO SANA potting soils. |
2003
December
Ten years ago, on 21 December 1993, Kali und Salz GmbH was founded. In that company, Kali und Salz AG, Kassel, and Mitteldeutsche Kali AG, Sondershausen, pooled their rock salt and potash operations, forming a joint venture. The "potash merger" marked the birth of today’s K+S Group, which has evolved from being a classic mining company into the second largest supplier of fertilizers and the leading producer of salt in Europe over the years that followed.
BASF reduces its stake in K+S Aktiengesellschaft to approx. 10%.
September
Kali-Transport Gesellschaft (KTG) has expanded storage and handling capacity at its "Kalikai" terminal by building a new shed facility. A shed with a storage capacity of 40,000 tons, built over an 11-month period, has been added to the existing facility at Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, which comprises nine buildings and six silo storage areas with a total volume of 285,000 tons. KTG has invested a total of about € 4.5 million in the project.
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SeptemberAfter 16 months of construction, a new social building was opened at K+S KALI GmbH's Neuhof-Ellers potash plant today. Aside from changing rooms for the workforce, enough to accommodate 400 people, the three-storey building also has offices for the works council. K+S KALI GmbH invested around EUR 2 million in the project. |
June
The "Lower Saxony Underground Waste Disposal Plant" project team ceases its work on planning an underground waste disposal plant for the Riedel site (Hänigsen, Hannover district). Changes in relevant legislation and increased competition result in the economic basis for the projected plant worsening over the long-term.
COMPO bolsters its raw materials base by acquiring a 30% interest in Latvia's Livanu Kudras Fabrika (LKF), Livani. The aim is to ensure the long-term supply of intermediate products for potting soil and to successfully advance COMPO's further development as a manufacturer of high quality branded products in a growing market.
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MayThe potash plant at Zielitz (Saxony-Anhalt) celebrates 30 years' of production. |
January
The ratification of an amended state treaty between Hesse and Thuringia smoothes the way for the "Sylvinite Project." Digging work has already started. As of 1 January 2005, an additional 1.5 million tons of sylvinite per year are to be extracted from the southeastern field of the Unterbreizbach mine.
2002
- The EU competition authorities have approved the establishment of the salt joint venture esco between K+S Aktiengesellschaft (Kassel) and Solvay S. A. (Brussels) without any conditions. In the new company K+S and Solvay will hold respectively 62 % and 38 % of the shares.
- Kali und Salz GmbH was merged with its parent company, K+S Aktiengesellschaft. Prior to this, the "Potash and Magnesium Products" and "Salt" segments were spun off respectively from Kali und Salz GmbH into its subsidiaries, K+S KALI GmbH and K+S Salz GmbH.
- K+S starts new share repurchase programme. The Annual General Meeting has enabled the Board to buy back shares up to 10% of the share capital.
- K+S acquires a 100% interest in the Bio-Data GmbH. Its entry in the commercial register as biodata ANALYTIK GmbH follows in June. The new company unites the analytic services of the former Bio-Data GmbH and of the K+S Consulting GmbH.
- Following its entry in the commercial register on June 26 the foundation of the joint venture esco - european salt company has been completed.
2001
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Officially opening of the K+S Group's new head office building in Kassel, in which more than 400 employees work. |
- K+S acquires an investment in Bio-Data GmbH and expands its presence in the analysis services market. Bio-Data is engaged in foodstuffs analysis, agricultural in-vestigations and biotechnology.
- The COMPO brand portfolio in the leisure and hobby area is further augmented by the acquisition of Algoflash S.A. The Algoflash Group develops and produces liquid and mineral fertilizers, garden mould and pesticides for homes and gardens for the European market.
- K+S expands its waste management business and acquires investments in two sub-sidiaries of Umweltschutz Nord GmbH & Co., which operate stationary thermic soil cleansing plant for the treatment of organically contaminated soil.
- fertiva transfers its head office from Limburgerhof to Mannheim.
- K+S announces a further share repurchase programme.
- Production of Kieserite commences at the Sigmundshall site. As a result, K+S's posi-tion as the European market leader for fertilizers containing magnesium and sulphur is strengthened further.
- Laying of the foundation stone in Merkers. The growing number of visitors to the Merkers Mine Adventure will be taken into account and the information and care of our visitors optimised with the new building.
- K+S and Solvay set up joint venture called ESCO in the salt sector. The new company, located in Hannover, will serve the European market with a complete product range.
2000
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Innovative fertilizer systems for beautiful, healthy plants |
Frisia Zout, Harlingen, Netherland extracts brine from a rock salt deposit |
- With the new COMPO business segment, K+S is the market leader in the green market, with many familiar branded products. COMPO supplies a broad range of branded products for the leisure or hobby area, as well as special fertilizers for market gardening, special cultures and agriculture.
- K+S buys back almost 5% of its share capital under a second share repurchase programme.
- FEHLT: Kaliwerk Werra feiert hundertjähriges Jubiläum. Es ist das größte Kaliwerk weltweit.
- The newly-established Dutch subsidiary, Frisia Zout B.V., which extracts brine from a rock salt deposit, augments the product range of the Salt segment. The brine is primarily further processed into evaporated salt for the chemical industry and into table and industrial salts.
- Announcement of the planned establishment of a joint venture with Solvay, aimed at the further strengthening of the salt business.
- The brand portfolio in the leisure and hobby area is expanded further with the acquisition of Algoflash S.A. and the Gesal plant care programme.
- In order to expand the logistics business, K+S acquires UBT- See- und Hafenspedition GmbH Rostock, which is engaged in seaport forwarding and ships' agency and clearance.
1999
- Kali und Salz Beteiligungs AG changes its name to K+S Aktiengesellschaft. BASF reduces its holding in K+S Aktiengesellschaft to below 25%.
- Reorganisation of the logistics business segment. The main focus is on the transshipment activities of its subsidiary, KTG, in Hamburg. This company can look back on 70 years of experience, and its share of the total export volume of the Port of Hamburg amounts to more than 15%.
- The foundation stone is laid for a Kieserite production facility at the Sigmundshall site. This will add a further speciality to the product range from 2001 onwards.
- Establishment of data process GmbH, which provides EDP consulting and services especially to medium-sized companies, exploiting the proven practical experience of the former EDP department with SAP products going back more than 20 years.
- K+S Aktiengesellschaft takes over Compo, a speciality supplier of fertilizers, and the distribution and marketing of the field fertilizers (single-nutrient nitrogenous fertilizers and multi-nutrient fertilizers) produced by BASF from BASF AG. As a result of the development of these business fields, K+S Aktiengesellschaft becomes Europe's second largest supplier of fertilizers. The distribution and marketing of field fertilizers are managed by a newly-established K+S subsidiary called fertiva GmbH.
- BASF reduces its stake in K+S Aktiengesellschaft to approx. 15%.
1998
The Zielitz Site
- Kali und Salz Beteiligungs AG purchases the 49% of the share capital of Kali und Salz GmbH still owned by the THA successor, the BVS (Federal Office for Reunification-Related Special Tasks). This successfully concludes the privatisation of the East German potash industry.
- Centenary of the Sigmundshall potash plant, while Germany's youngest potash plant in Zielitz celebrates 25 years of operations.
- The German stock exchange lists K+S in the MDAX.
- In a further step, BASF reduces its holding in Kali und Salz Beteiligungs AG to about 25%. The shares are taken up by institutional investors.
- Collective pay scales in Eastern Germany are adjusted to the levels in the old federal states.
1997
The Bernburg Site
- The business plan agreed between Kali und Salz and THA is fulfilled. The forward-looking (93-97) investment programme implemented in this connection totals DM 1.3 billion, of which DM 800 million alone is invested in former East Germany.
- As a result of the sale of 25% of its shares to a number of financial investors, BASF AG reduces its investment in Kali und Salz Beteiligungs GmbH to 49.5%. As a result, the company has a much broader range of investors.
- The Herfa-Neurode underground storage site celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary.
1996
Extraction without borders: New mining concessions in the border area of Thuringia and HEsse are axplored
- The interstate agreement between Hesse and Thuringia on the trans-border extraction of crude potash salt on the Werra comes into force and exploration and development of the new mining concessions in Thuringia begins.
- The company brings a new hot leach factory for the production of industrial potash in Zielitz and the new evaporated salt plant in Bernburg into operation.
- Kali und Salz Bauschutt-Recycling GmbH commences building waste recycling operations in Sehnde, near Hanover.
- The Merkers Mine Adventure Museum celebrates its fifth birthday. The former potash mine has welcomed more than 250,000 visitors since 1991.
1995
Plant for treatment of salt slag at the Sigmundshall Site
- An underground storage location in Zielitz is taken into operation.
- Plant for the treatment of salt slag from the secondary aluminium industry commences operations at the Sigmundshall site.
- The salt content of the Werra and Weser rivers is reduced further as a result of the implementation of the interstate agreement on the desalination of the Werra.
1994
The former Kali und Salz AG changes its name to Kali und Salz Beteiligungs AG. The main focus of its business activities is the management of the investment activities. Its largest investment is Kali und Salz GmbH.
1993
Merger of the potash and rock salt activities in the newly-formed Kali und Salz GmbH, Kassel. Kali und Salz AG holds 51% of the share capital and the THA 49%.
1990-1992
- As a result of falling demand for potash, which had prevailed for several years, production capacity in Western and Eastern Germany has to be withdrawn from the market. To this end, uneconomic locations are closed down or the number of jobs reduced by rationalisation.
- The reunification of the two German states offers the historic opportunity to bring the potash and salt activities of Kali und Salz AG and Mitteldeutsche Kali AG (MDK) together again after more than 40 years. Kali und Salz AG and the privatisation agency in former East Germany, the Treuhandanstalt (THA), as the owner of MDK, draw up a merger concept, aimed at creating a competitive potash industry, following appropriate adjustments to the capacity.
- Kali und Salz Entsorgung GmbH, Kassel, is established to coordinate the waste management activities.
1970
- An increasing number of potash producers are active in the world market. In order to able to assert themselves internationally, the potash and rock salt works of Salzdetfurth AG and the Wintershall/Burbach Group are merged in a new company called Kali und Salz GmbH in Kassel (the later Kali und Salz AG).
- Though its subsidiary, Wintershall AG, BASF AG becomes the majority shareholder in Kali und Salz.
1945
- As a result of the division of Germany into occupation zones and the later division of the country, only about 40% of the previous production capacity remains in West Germany. The remaining 60% is in East Germany.
- Despite this difficult starting position, Wintershall AG, Burbach-Kaliwerke AG, Salzdetfurth AG, Kali-Chemie AG and Preussag, which were already the leading companies in the German potash industry before the war, build up an efficient potash industry in West Germany.
1918
- Until the end of the first world war, when Alsace with its potash mines falls to France, the German Reich is the only country in the world producing potash.
- In the decades following 1918, potash deposits are also discovered in the USA and the Soviet Union, Spain, Italy, Canada, Israel, Jordan, Great Britain, the Congo, Brazil, China, Thailand, Tunisia and Chile.
1894
- "Bohrgesellschaft Wintershall" (which changed its name in 1929 to Wintershall AG) is founded in Bochum.
1889
- Gründung der "Aktiengesellschaft für Bergbau und Tiefbohrung" in Goslar, aus der später die Salzdetfurth AG - die älteste Vorläuferin der heutigen K+S Aktiengesellschaft - hervorgeht.
Formation of deposits
"How did salt get into the ground?" A number of attempts have been made to explain this scientifically, the most probable of which is the so-called bar theory expounded by the geologist, Ochsenius.
Briefly, this is as follows:
In common with other regions, most of Central Europe was covered by an inland sea more than 250 million years ago, during the Zechstein period, which was largely cut off from the open sea by shallow straits, known as bars. Since a desert-like climate predominated in our latitudes at that time, the intensive solar radiation evaporated the water, like in a gigantic evaporating pan.
The salinity of the body of water increased until the dissolved minerals (carbonates, sulphates and chlorides) crystallized out and formed layers of potassic minerals. This led to the development of vast deposits, some of which are several hundred meters thick, which were covered later during the further geological developments by impermeable layers and thus protected from being dissolved again.
As a result, we have a natural product at our disposal today that was created from pure sea water by the heat of the sun at a time when there was no pollution.
