Merck KGaA and Schüssler Novachem, a manufacturer of inorganic salts based in Halle/Saale, Germany, have reached an agreement on the sale of laboratory equipment and production units located at the Lehrte site in the German federal state of Lower Saxony. Schüssler had already acquired the land and buildings in Lehrte from Deutsche Bahn Immobilien GmbH in a separate transaction.

As part of its “Fit for 2018” transformation and growth program, Merck KGaA announced in 2012 that it would close the Lehrte site in mid-2014 and continue to operate the relevant business from Darmstadt. Merck KGaA  and the works council agreed about a reconciliation of interest and a social plan. Apart from efficiency enhancement measures, “Fit for 2018” also consists of numerous investments to securefuture growth across various segments of the business: a recent example of supporting growth has been the construction of new powerplants at Merck KGaA's corporate center in Darmstadt.  

Source: Merck KGaA