Leuna Works

Company History: The Leuna works (German: Leunawerke) in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt, is one of the biggest chemical industrial complexes in Germany.The site, now owned jointly by companies such as Total S.A., BASF, Linde AG, and DOMO Group, covers 13 km2 and produces a very wide range of chemicals and plastics.

Ammonia is an important intermediate product for the manufacture of nitric acid and other nitrogen compounds, needed to produce fertilizers and explosives in particular. The increasing demand for explosives during World War I exceeded the ammonia production capacities of the Oppau works of BASF, who owned the patents for the Haber process. Leuna in central Germany, out of range of French aircraft, was selected as the location of a second plant named Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik, Ammoniakwerk Merseburg. Construction started on 25 May 1916, and the first tank car with ammonia left the works in April 1917.

After German reunification in 1990, the Leuna works were divided into several smaller units that were sold to several companies, among them Total S.A., BASF, Linde AG, and Belgian DOMO Group. Common utilities for the companies are provided by InfraLeuna.[10] With the closure of unprofitable plants and general modernization, the number of employees was reduced significantly from 28000 (1978) to 9000 in 2014. QUINN Chemicals invested in a plant to manufacture methyl methacrylate (MMA) but construction has halted as of January 2009 due to heavy cost overruns.

Chancellor Helmut Kohl mediated the transfer of the Leuna oil refinery to French company Elf Aquitaine (who later became part of Total) in 1990/1991. Dubious transactions at that time led to the so-called Leuna affair and criminal proceedings against manager Alfred Sirven. In 1997, the new refinery MIDER (Mitteldeutsche Erdoel-Raffinerie), now TRM (Total Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland) started production after two and a half years of construction time. It represents the largest direct investment of a French company in the new states of Germany and was supported by an EU state aid of 1400 million Deutsche Mark, corresponding to 27% of the total investment.With the construction of new plants in an area named Leuna III, the industrial complex has expanded towards the village of Spergau.From Wikipedia

Brief History: Germany is a Western European country with a landscape of forests, rivers, mountain ranges and North Sea beaches. It has over 2 millennia of history. Berlin, its capital, is home to art and nightlife scenes, the Brandenburg Gate and many sites relating to WWII. Munich is known for its Oktoberfest and beer halls, including the 16th-century Hofbräuhaus. Frankfurt, with its skyscrapers, houses the European Central Bank.