Holland Novochem – sustainable, future-proof additives

SUSTAINABLE FERTILIZER COATINGS

Holland Novochem – sustainable, future-proof additives

Holland Novochem was founded in 1992 by a team of experienced engineers with expertise in fertilizer additives. The company has developed and commercialised a long-established range of high-quality, anti-caking, moisture repellents and de-dusting agents over the last three decades. It has also become the fertilizer industry’s natural partner for sustainable fertilizer additives, says Dr Erik Bijpost, Holland Novochem’s Procurement Manager.

A deep-end additive specialist

Holland Novochem has grown to become Europe’s leading, deep-end specialist in fertilizer additives. The company’s head office and laboratory are located close to Amsterdam in The Netherlands and its state-of-the-art fully automated production site is strategically situated on the Merwede river close to the port of Rotterdam.

Fertilizer additives are Holland Novochem’s bread and butter. The company’s philosophy is to focus on delivering the best service – together with the best products. We understand very well that each fertilizer plant and product is unique, requiring dedicated services and professional advice. Finding the best solution together with our customers is what drives us, with a focus on flawless production, security of supply, sustainability, safety and carbon footprint reduction.

As part of our commitment to help customers stay ahead in these challenging times, we aim to find solutions that serve their specific needs at present and also meet future environmental demands. We achieve this by working in close cooperation with our customers, sharing our extensive knowledge and R&D strengths to provide them with future-proof answers and innovative tailor-made solutions.

Holland Novochem serves the fertilizer industry in more than 90 countries through several branch offices located across the world. The company is well-known for its extensive range of NovoFlow– and NovoDust-branded fertilizer additives that protect against caking, moisture and dust. These high-performance products successfully address many of the problems associated with the production, storage and transportation of fertilizers, in either solid or liquid form.

The Holland Novochem way

Over the years, Holland Novochem has built up a strong reference list that includes all the major global fertilizer-producing companies. The company attributes its success to the following factors:

1. Dedicated staff: building long term partnerships with our customers is the priority of our multi-disciplinary and highly experienced chemical, logistic and commercial team with more than 150 years of business experience in fertilizer solutions.

2. Sustainable technology: selected and well-studied raw materials are used in all products, and the company ensures that all products have a minimal negative impact on nature. Holland Novochem was the first company worldwide to develop and supply bio-based and biodegradable coatings to the fertilizer industry.

3. Independence of raw material selection: the company is not restricted to using specific in-house raw materials, such as amines or paraffins.

4. Cost awareness: we focus on finding the optimal balance of price and performance in accordance with our customers’ wishes.

5. State-of-the-art fertilizer additives laboratory: the company’s modern laboratory has the necessary facilities to run all the specific tests needed to develop custom-made formulations and new applications.

6. Consistency of quality and reliability: the location of our production plant near the port of Rotterdam allows us to take full advantage of local automation and logistic services. In-time-delivery and security of supply are second nature for our team.

“Sustainable coatings have become increasingly popular with our customers worldwide over the last 20 years – with the number of companies adopting these continuing to rise annually.

During the last few years, however, awareness that petrochemicals should be exchanged for more sustainable products has grown strongly. Sustainability has been prioritised internationally by the United Nations through its wide-ranging 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Similarly, the European Commission’s flagship Green Deal policy has set a target for the EU to become climate neutral by 2050. As a consequence of this agenda, fertilizer anti-caking agents will need to undergo a transition in composition – moving away from petrochemicals – within a relative short time span.

Holland Novochem has been preparing for this transition for more than two decades. Since 2003, the company has been carrying out extensive research on bio-based fertilizer additives, with these studies resulting in dozens of filed and granted patents. More importantly, sustainable coatings have become increasingly popular with our customers worldwide over the last 20 years – with the number of companies adopting these continuing to rise annually.

Continuous improvement

Holland Novochem’s R&D team has also continued to optimise the company’s bio-based product line. Recent breakthroughs have included the development of a more sustainable range of environmentally friendly anti-caking and moisture repellent agents.

At first sight, replacing mineral oil and paraffins with their natural counter types– vegetable oils and derivatives – would seem to be the obvious option. However, the coating behaviour of vegetable oils, specifically their glycerol functionality, is affected by hydrolysis and other chemical reactions. These coatings therefore tend to become unstable and lose their performance very quickly over time. Holland Novochem has, however, successfully tackled these issues and advanced to a new product range that offers excellent performance on all well-known fertilizers.

It goes without saying that – to secure long-lasting fertilizer quality for all our customers – Holland Novochem will continue to develop sustainable, low carbon footprint products that are both affordable and readily-available.