Potash and Magnesium Products

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Key Figures		2009	2008	%
Revenues	€ million	1,421.7	2,397.4	(40.7)
EBIT I	€ million	231.7	1,203.2	(80.7)
Capital expenditure	€ million	107.4	111.1	(3.3)
Employees as of 31.12.	number	7,818	7,845	(0.3)

The Potash and Magnesium Products business segment extracts potash and magnesium crude salts at six mines in Germany, with an annual production output amounting to up to 8 million tonnes of products. We then process the vital minerals contained in our natural raw materials – potassium, magnesium and sulphur – to produce high-grade fertilizers as well as intermediate products for the manufacture of industrial products. On the basis of a unique mix of raw materials, the business segment provides a range of products, more diverse than that offered by any other potash producer in the world.

The world’s fourth-largest potash producer
The Potash and Magnesium Products business segment is, via K+S KALI GmbH, the fourthlargest potash producer in the world and the leading provider in Europe. Our specialities containing potash and magnesium clearly distinguish us from the competition and with these fertilizers we occupy the leading position in the world. With our products for industrial, technical and pharmaceutical applications too, we are among the most powerful
suppliers worldwide and by far the number one in Europe.

Competence in potassium and magnesium
The strategic goal of the business segment is to grow with the market, so that in future too, we will continue to play a leading role on the global potash market. We are therefore examining acquisition and cooperation projects all over the world, as well as the opening up of new deposits. Our core competencies are extracting, refining and marketing complex potassium and magnesium salts. We have set ourselves the objective of strengthening ourselves along the entire value-added chain. This includes the development of new, innovative products within the framework of our processing strategy for agriculture and industry. This strategy is also reflected in the restructuring of our business operations into the four business areas Fertilizer, Industry, Healthcare & Food and Feed. In 2009, we want to further consolidate our leading position in potassium sulphate and magnesium products.

Potassium chloride – a fertilizer with universal application areas
Potassium chloride is the top-selling product. It is a single-nutrient fertilizer with universal areas of application and is used globally for major crops, such as cereals, corn, rice and soy beans. As a granulate, potassium chloride is spread evenly over fields using fertilizer spreaders. Increasingly, operators of bulk blenders use granulate in order to mix it with other single-nutrient fertilizers in accordance with various formulas. We supply potassium chloride as a fine-grain “standard” product for the fertilizer industry, which processes it along with other nutrients to produce complex fertilizers.

Fertilizer specialities with different nutrient formulas
Our fertilizer specialities differ from classic potassium chloride because of their different nutrient formulas with magnesium, sulphur and trace elements. The specialities are mainly used for soils and crops with a greater need for magnesium and sulphur in addition to potash, such as rape or potatoes.

Industrial products with numerous application possibilities
Our wide range of high-quality potassium and magnesium products for industrial applications is available with different degrees of purity and special grain sizes. Our Potassium Chloride 99 % is, for example, used in chlorine-alkaline electrolysis in the chemical industry as well as in the production of glass and synthetic materials, in the mineral oil industry and in metallurgical processes. Our magnesium sulphates are employed in the paper and pulp industry to aid environmentally friendly oxygen bleaching, added to detergents to protect fibres and are used in biotechnology and the recycling of synthetic materials.

Health care & Food business area with growing potential
Our high-purity potassium and magnesium salts, certified in accordance with internationally recognised standards, can be found in products that fulfil the particularly high requirements of the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries.

 Feed of certified quality
Under the trade name KaSa®, we offer high-quality potassium chloride and magnesium sulphate to the mixed feed industry for the feeding of various farm animals.

 

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