5 July 2012
K+S Aktiengesellschaft
State premier Bouffier visits Werra potash plant
Volker Bouffier, state premier of Hesse, today visited the Werra potash plant in the Hesse-Thuringia potash district at the invitation of Norbert Steiner, K+S Chairman of the Board of Executive Director. The focus of the visit was on the extraction and processing of domestic raw materials, which form an important basis for our modern industrial society.
On a trip through the mine together, Bouffier learned about the underground extraction of crude potash salts. The state premiers was very impressed by the dimensions below-ground, the high safety standards and the dedicated work of the employees.
Norbert Steiner emphasised: “We utilise state-of-the-art exploration and mining processes and are constantly further developing our process technologies above and below ground. The mineral fertilizers and salts produced by us are needed and in demand worldwide. We thus make an important contribution to feeding the constantly growing world population and offer a comprehensive range of goods and services for agriculture, industry, and private consumers, which provides growth opportunities in virtually every sphere of daily life.”
State premier Bouffier explained: “With more than 5,000 employees in our state, K+S is a company, which is a model of the efficiency shown by industry in Hesse. Over 300 trainees are learning their craft in the company, where they acquire many different prospects for the future, which are opened up for them by a DAX-listed concern. The continuation of potash production and the securing of the related jobs are of great importance to our state and its economic strength”, said Bouffier. “I am pleased at the commitment of K+S, which continues to reduce the saline waste water incurred through extraction, and I welcome the examination of stretches of pipelines, which may solve the waste water problem completely and sustainably. A well-functioning economy and a sustainable approach to the environment are not contradictions”, said the state premier.
Steiner stressed that for K+S, economical responsibility, the conservation of the natural bases for life and social responsibility are inseparable. “We will also continue intensively to work to minimise the inevitable interventions in nature as much as possible. But we also expect others to live up to their responsibility for ensuring sustainable production in the Hesse-Thuringia potash district”, Steiner continued. The current implementation of the € 360 million package of measures on water protection is a major feat of strength for K+S and, in particular, for the Werra potash plant and its team. K+S is committed to ensuring that potash mining and, together with it, the region will have a good future for the coming decades.
About K+S
The K+S Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of standard and speciality fertilizers. In the salt business, K+S is the world’s leading producer with sites in Europe as well as North and South America. K+S offers a comprehensive range of goods and services for agriculture, industry, and private consumers, which provides growth opportunities in virtually every sphere of daily life. The K+S Group employs more than 14,000 people. K+S – the commodity stock represented on the German share index, the DAX – is quoted on all German stock exchanges (ISIN: DE000KSAG888, symbol: SDF). More information about K+S can be found at www.k-plus-s.com.
About K+S KALI GmbH
Within the K+S Group, K+S KALI GmbH is responsible for the potash and magnesium products sphere of operation. In six mines in Germany, including the Werra Verbund plant, the company mines salts containing potash, magnesium and sulphur and produces a wide range of high-quality products from them for the agricultural, industrial, healthcare and food sectors. Of the 7,900 people employed by the company, some 5,000 are based at the production sites in Hesse and Thuringia.
