Industrial Chemicals and Plastic Additives
The two business units, industrial chemicals and plastic additives, experienced high demand, especially at the beginning of last year. Such strong demand in the first quarter was exceptional and continued throughout the year. However, although production was running at full speed all year round to meet demand, unreliable supply chains, difficulties in the transport market and rising raw material prices made fulfilling customer orders challenging.
Alcohol
Widely fluctuating needs and supply bottlenecks characterized the alcohol year 2021. Once again it became clear how important it is to be flexible and diversified. Thanks to our two plants, in Heilbronn and Lutherstadt Wittenberg, and a total storage capacity of around 20,000 m³, we were able to buffer the unusually strong fluctuations and were able to deliver at all times.
For 2022 we expect a situation similar to 2021 and have prepared as best we can in all areas - it remains exciting!
Upcoming Fairs and Conferences
The Corona Pandemic has once again had a major impact on our work and personal life. We hope that the pandemic situation will allow more personal exchanges again this year. In all probability, there will be an excellent opportunity for a personal meeting at the K trade fair from October 19th to 26th, 2022 in Düsseldorf, the DKT - German Rubber Conference from June 27th to 30th, 2022 in Nuremberg, the Chinaplas from April 25th to 28th, 2022 in Shanghai, China and the American Coatings Show from April 5th to 7th 2022 in Indianapolis, USA.
Sustainability
The company already addressed the topic of sustainability in 2021 and it will be one of the central topics in 2022.
Electromobility leads to changed requirements in the automotive sector. For the higher current load in electric motors, plastic additives are required that do not cause corrosion, are flame retardant and can tolerate high temperatures. One of several newly developed additives in the field, BRUGGOLEN® TP-H2062, meets the stated requirements. We have also initiated some product developments in the area of recycling. The additives BRUGGOLEN® TP-R2090 and R8895 were developed for PP recycling. Further additives are currently being developed for PE recycling.
Would you like to find out more about our product developments? Contact us!
An important component of our sustainability program is the purchase of raw materials. Thanks to our water connection, a total of 140 tank truck transports were replaced with 3 ship deliveries. Compared to a 40-ton articulated lorry, an inland waterway vessel consumes less than a third of the energy (source: Federal Environment Agency). This results in a CO2 reduction compared to conventional road transport.
In 2022, Brueggemann will build a biomass heating plant at the Heilbronn site in close proximity to the production in order to cover its own process heat requirements. As a result, Brueggemann will significantly reduce its fossil CO2 footprint as early as 2023 and make an active contribution to the energy transition.
Transitions
At the end of 2021 we said goodbye two of our managing directors, Dr. Josef Berghofer and Joachim Hofmann, who have managed the company very successfully in recent years. Their successor is Dr. Stefan Laetsch, who has been the company's managing director since April last year. Among other things, Dr. Laetsch brings significant international experience and will continue to drive forward the internationalization and growth of the company with the entire Brueggemann team.
The year 2021 is over. The finish line has been crossed. We are in the starting blocks and look forward to the next challenge - the year 2022 - and we say: Ready, Set, Go!
