Evonik Vland Biotech officially put into operation in Qingdao

Evonik Vland Biotech was officially put into operation on March 14 in Qingdao, Shandong. The company is a joint venture between Evonik China and Shandong Vland Biotech, which aims to expand the business of intestinal health solutions for farmed animals, such as probiotic products, in China and develop new products and solutions.

Evonik's Animal Nutrition business line is part of the Nutrition & Consumer Chemicals business unit and is committed to providing biological solutions for the feed industry, including probiotics for animal intestinal health. Cooperation with Vland Biotech is an important step in realizing this strategy.

"We have worked closely with Vland Biotech over the past ten years, which lays the foundation for a further deepening of the partnership," said Johann-Caspar Gammelin, head of Evonik's Animal Nutrition business unit. Evonik's biotechnology platform focuses on integrating innovations in the fields of chemistry, biotechnology, pharmacology and data science to develop biological solutions, thereby opening up new opportunities for company development.

Chen Gang, Chairman and President of Shandong Vland Biotech, said: "In the past ten years, Vland Biotech and Evonik have continuously expanded and deepened cooperation areas. The formal operation of the joint venture will make full use of and give full play to the superior resources of both parties, focus on animal intestinal health, providing efficient products and solutions to domestic and foreign users."

The joint venture company is headquartered in the Vland Biotech Innovation Park in Qingdao and will use Vland Biotech's production facilities in Binzhou. The company will focus on innovative solutions, stay close to customers, and continuously improve product quality and speed.

Dr. Wang Xu, general manager of Evonik Vland Biotech, said: "Relying on the strong innovation capabilities, application technology expertise and excellent reputation of the two parent companies, we will bring innovative products and solutions to the market and help customers create value." According to the agreement, Evonik will also be responsible for the sales of the joint venture's products in overseas markets.

Thanks to the establishment of the joint venture, Evonik will add new product formulation ingredients to its animal intestinal health product portfolio, helping to develop new intestinal health solutions. Animal intestinal health solutions are the core of Evonik's animal nutrition business line's specialty nutrition business. The main product portfolio includes probiotics such as Ecobiol, Fecinor, GutPlus and GutCare. These probiotics are active microorganisms that can be added to animal feed to maintain or restore the microbial balance in the animal's intestines and help improve the health.

In October 2023, Evonik China and Shandong Vland Biotech reached an agreement and announced the establishment of a joint venture. Evonik is the major shareholder, holding 55% of the equity of the company.