LyondellBasell (LYB) announced a change in management for its largest European site at Wesseling-Knapsack, around the Cologne area in Germany.
Daniel Koch will take over management of the two plants, which employ 1,900 people. He will manage day-to-day operations and drive the transformation towards sustainability, LYB said in a statement.
Koch succeeds Tassilo Bader, who retired in 2024. Stephan Ständer, who had taken over management of the plants in the meantime, is returning to his previous position as director operations polymers at Wesseling.
Daniel Koch was most recently head of operations at the European sites within Covestro's Performance Materials business unit. Commenting on his new job, Koch pointed to LYB’s circularity projects in the Wesseling and Knapsack plants.
“The main reasons for my decision are the pioneering projects at the Wesseling-Knapsack site, where LyondellBasell is taking a significant step towards a circular economy,” Koch said. “I have been particularly impressed by the people I have met at LyondellBasell so far - both professionally and personally. They reflect the high level of competence and team spirit, which I believe are crucial to the company's success.”
Last September, LYB laid the foundation stone for its industrial-scale chemical recycling plant in Wesseling. The facility is expected to have an annual capacity of 50,000 tonnes and is designed to recycle the amount of plastic packaging waste generated by over 1.2 million German citizens per year. Construction is planned to be completed by the end of 2025 with start-up expected in 2026.
LYB has also announced plans to build an integrated plastic waste sorting facility in Knapsack. The hub is expected to combine various sorting and recycling operations and will produce feedstock for LyondellBasell’s mechanical and chemical recycling projects in Geleen, the Netherlands, and Wesseling.