It was a long tug-of-war in which the ball ultimately rolled in favor of the Agrofert Group. In the summer of 2023, the Czechs took over Borealis’ nitrogen division and its almost 800 employees in Linz. Despite investments of 100 million euros, the situation there is currently tense. Reason: Cheap fertilizer and ammonia from Russia and melamine from China are putting pressure on the markets.
In the summer of 2023, the Czech Agrofert Group completed the acquisition of Borealis’ nitrogen division in Linz. Purchase price: approximately 810 million euros. Since then, approximately 100 million euros have been invested at the capital’s location alone under the new LAT Nitrogen brand. The money went to maintaining, monitoring and improving the systems; a mega project involving more than seventy different companies.
What has changed significantly since the takeover? “We are again focusing more on innovation and the future. We have an owner who thinks sustainably,” says location manager Leonhard Werner, who also speaks of a “difficult market environment”.
What does that mean? Many cheap fertilizers and cheap ammonia come from Russia, forcing European fertilizer manufacturers to reduce production or even close down. “Russia is flooding us with fertilizer and ammonia,” says Manuel Beschliesser. Cheap melamine is also exported to Europe from China.
“We are clearly committed to producing in Europe for Europe”
LAT Nitrogen has also responded to this and production in Linz has been scaled back since the summer. The managers of LAT Nitrogen say they are currently increasing fixed costs. “It is not impossible that we will have to shut down a system at some point,” says Werner thoughtfully. Poland is fighting the imbalance and demanding import duties on Russian fertilizer. Beschliesser emphasizes: “We are clearly committed to producing in Europe for Europe.”
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
