Symrise, with Lanxess on site, broke the ground for the facility that will double its ability to produce synthetic menthols in Holzminden. The additional capacities, which start operations in 2012, double Symrise’s production of menthol in Holzminden. Lanxess supplies Symrise with the intermediate products needed to manufacture menthol.Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, the Symrise CEO, and Dr. Hans-Georg Schmitt, head of the Basic Chemicals business unit at Lanxess, jointly broke ground at the Holzminden site on Wednesday. The two companies have been working together for almost four decades.

Symrise manufactures synthetic L-menthol at its sites in Holzminden and Bushy Park (USA) and has established itself as a global market leader in this sector. Menthol is an important component of flavorings used in oral-care products, chewing gum and candy, and it is one of Symrise’s most internationally relevant products. Backward integration of a key raw material such as menthol helps Symrise remain independent in terms of reliable supply, quality and price, and it strengthens the company’s solid position.

Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram explains, “The global demand for menthol has been increasing at double-digit rates for years now. As a result, we want to work with our long-term partner Lanxess and increase our capacity to produce synthetic menthol while strengthening our international market leadership in this strategic growth market. In addition, we are expanding our product range in the menthol sector so that our clients are able to respond to consumer preferences better and more flexibly.”

Senior Vice President of the Aroma Molecules business unit, Dr. Norbert Richter, adds, “The need for menthol is steadily increasing, not only in industrial countries, but in emerging markets as well. We thus see expanding our menthol-production capacities as the next logical step.”

Dr. Hans-Georg Schmitt states, “We want to continue our successful work with Symrise and guide the partnership into a new era.”

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