UK investment in manufacture of leading fungicide comes on stream to meet rising global demand
A major investment to increase production of the worlds largest selling fungicide in response to growing global demand has come on-stream at the Grangemouth manufacturing site of Syngenta in Scotland.
Azoxystrobin from Syngenta, was originally discovered in the UK at the companys Jealotts Hill International Research Centre in Berkshire late in the 1980s.
Since then it has gone on to become the worlds largest selling fungicide active ingredient, says Paul Varney, the Syngenta combinable crops team lead with joint responsibility for marketing the product in the UK.
As well as continued strong use of azoxystrobin in UK cereal crops in the products Amistar and Amistar Opti, we have also seen huge expansion into more than 120 crops in nearly 100 countries around the world, Mr Varney explains. It has been to satisfy this growing demand that production has been stepped up.
Ever since launch, all our manufacturing globally for azoxystrobin has been carried out at the Grangemouth site in Scotland. For many years the plant capacity was able to supply enough active ingredient to supply global demand but the recent increased demand has meant significant additional capacity was required.
After two years in development the additional capacity has now come on stream, and will give us the capability to increase production capacity by around 50%. It is all part of a wider strategy which has seen Syngenta increase our investment in UK manufacturing and R&D sites over recent years.
While Mr Varney says Amistar products continue to remain a core standard for yield and quality improvement in wheat helping growers to produce brighter, bolder grain samples which appeal to buyers it is its growth into other crop areas in other parts of the world which is largely behind the need for extra production. These include crops as diverse as oilseed rape, corn, soya, rice, vegetables, bananas, potatoes and turf.
The reason azoxystrobin is suited to such a wide range of crops is because of its activity against a broad spectrum of diseases. From the time of its discovery to this latest manufacturing facility coming on-stream, azoxystrobin has been a huge success story for the UK. Significantly, the commitment to expanding UK manufacturing was made at a time when the world was facing an economically challenging time.
Other UK investment made by Syngenta has been at the companys R&D centre at Jealotts Hill to enhance the centres leading edge technological capability and to further accelerate the delivery of new products to market.
Global food supply needs to increase by 50% over the next 20 years to meet population changes. Crop protection provides a key way to sustainably increase agricultural productivity, Mr Varney says.
Statistics for the increased AZ production capability at Grangemouth
50 new jobs created across a range of functions including manufacturing, engineering, management, analytical technicians and process control
Over 21 km of piping used in its construction
Over 170 main plant items used
Over 120 km of wiring
Consumed over 500,000 project hours without a recordable injury
Syngenta is one of the world’s leading companies with more than 25,000 employees in over 90 countries dedicated to our purpose: Bringing plant potential to life. Through world-class science, global reach and commitment to our customers we help to increase crop productivity, protect the environment and improve health and quality of life. For more information about us please go to www.syngenta.com.