Evonik bundles infrastructure services in SYNEQT GmbH

Marl/Wesseling, Germany. In North Rhine-Westphalia, a new service champion for the chemical sector and other industries is being created. Evonik is bundling its infrastructure activities of the Marl and Wesseling chemical parks in a joint unit. The new company is called SYNEQT GmbH and is scheduled to start operations on January 1, 2026. With around 3,500 employees and a turnover of around €1.8 billion, SYNEQT will then be one of the largest providers of services in the process industry in North Rhine-Westphalia and will also rank among the top in its industry in Germany.

"So far, we at Evonik have largely combined everything under one roof," says Thomas Wessel, Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director at Evonik, who is responsible for the company’s infrastructure units. "In a world in which more and more specialist knowledge is needed to assert oneself at the top in the respective field, a different setup is needed. That's why we bring our highly qualified and experienced services specialists from Marl and Wesseling together in SYNEQT. The result is a powerful company with medium-sized structures and fast decision-making."

SYNEQT will merge Evonik's two strongest infrastructure units at the Rhine and Ruhr rivers. As a result, the company has broad experience in all services related to chemical plants and other process industries. Its expertise includes, for example, the supply of energy, pipeline construction and operation, safe facility and plant management, technical services, waste disposal, port operations, plant logistics, and fire brigades, but also plant security and canteen operations. "At SYNEQT, we have combined all the qualifications and fundamentals to be able to develop the sites in the long term into climate-neutral, digitally networked and highly flexible industrial ecosystems with modular, tailor-made assets, closed material cycles and smart services," says Thomas Basten, spokesman for the management of SYNEQT. "In the future, we will be able to concentrate fully on these core tasks and thus retain existing customers in the long term and attract new ones."

SYNEQT will start in January as a 100 percent subsidiary of Evonik. In the future, investors might join, taking different stakes to provide further funds to grow the business. However, such options are still being evaluated. "We are carefully looking at which path offers the best prospects for SYNEQT and the Group," emphasizes Thomas Wessel. "We are taking the time that is necessary for this." As part of the employee transitions to SYNEQT, terms of employment will generally not change. Evonik has finalized corresponding agreements with its employee representatives. However, SYNEQT employees are not exempt from Evonik's long-term efficiency measures, such as "Evonik Tailor Made." The aim is to also position SYNEQT as an efficient, sustainable company with powerful structures.

Evonik has so far been the operator of the chemical parks in Marl and Wesseling as well as their largest customer. In the future, the Group intends to concentrate more on its core business of chemical production. Therefore, about two years ago, it announced to set an independent services unit by the end of 2025 and to look for the best possible operator model. In addition to Evonik, the future SYNEQT already provides customized services to around two dozen companies. "We have an industry-leading energy, material and data interconnection system and a very high level of security," says Thomas Basten. "We want to further expand this offering in the future with targeted investments, for example in digital services, and thus become even more attractive for customers outside the plant premises."

Growth opportunities within the existing chemical parks arise from their location in the Ruhr area and Rhineland, two traditionally strong regions for Germany’s chemical industry. In addition to the overall high level of service, the infrastructure is also of high quality. Marl and Wesseling already operate an industrial hydrogen network and are connected to important raw material and energy pipelines. "In the chemicals region in the south of Cologne, there are many ways in which SYNEQT GmbH can support its customers on their way to a climate-neutral and economic future," says Arndt Selbach, who heads the Wesseling Chemical Park at SYNEQT.