Merck sells assets at Lehrte site to Schussler Novachem

Germany’s Merck have signed an agreement to sell its laboratory equipment and production units located at the Lehrte site in Lower Saxony, German, to Schussler Novachem, a manufacturer of inorganic salts based in Halle/Saale, Germany. Schussler had already acquired the land and buildings in Lehrte from Deutsche Bahn Immobilien GmbH in a separate transaction.
 
“We are glad to see that Schussler will continue with their own chemical production at the Lehrte location,” said Bernd Reckmann, CEO Chemicals, Merck.
 
As part of its ‘Fit for 2018’ transformation and growth program, Merck announced in 2012 that it would close the Lehrte site in mid-2014 and continue to operate the relevant business from Darmstadt. Therefore Merck and the works council agreed about a reconciliation of interest and a social plan. Apart from efficiency enhancement measures, ‘Fit for 2018’ also comprises numerous investments to secure future growth across various segments of the business: a recent example of supporting growth has been the construction of new powerplants at Merck’s corporate center in Darmstadt since August 2013.