Detergents, Surfactants & Chemicals

Desmet Ballestra S.p.A, Italy, (DBI) is a process engineering company with proprietary technologies in many areas of the organic and inorganic chemical industry and can offer unique skill and experience in the design and supply of a number of plants such as:

• Production plants for surfactants, formulated detergents, auxiliaries and raw materials for the Detergent Industry (Detergents Division)
• Production plants for Sulphuric acid, Phosphoric acid, N-P-K granulated compounds, SSP, TSP, Sodium Silicate, Potassium Sulphate, Zeolites etc. (Chemical Division)

DBI’s main office, which includes laboratories and the R&D department equipped with full-size pilot plants, is located in Milan near the Linate Airport while the Oleo-chemical Division is located at Pomezia (Rome).
　

Background

Desmet Ballestra S.p.a. was created in 2007 from the acquisition of Ballestra S.p.a. by the Belgian engineering group Desmet S.A. 
Since the beginning of its operation in 1960, Ballestra S.p.A. has focused on the design and supply of modern, efficient and easy-to-operate production plants for sulphonation and detergent production, at that time still using old technologies and scarcely efficient production methods.

One of the first innovations introduced by Ballestra was the use of gaseous SO3 in place of oleum as a sulphonation agent and the optimisation of the continuous sulphonation process for production of anionic surfactants, reaching yield and product quality never achieved before.

Through a continuous technological development, Ballestra has been progressively building up and consolidating its leading position in the surfactants and detergents sector with 1500 plants (including also sulphonation plants up to 150,000 T/Year capacity and spray drying towers up to 250,000 T/Year capacity) spread over 120 countries.

In the year 2000 Ballestra diversified into the inorganic chemical sector by starting a profitable co-operation with Monsanto Envirochem (USA) for the design and supply of sulphuric acid production plants up to over 2000 TPD capacity, some of which equipped with HRS ® (Heat Recovery System).

Subsequently, DBI has also become a licensee of Prayon (Belgium), for the design and supply of plants for phosphoric acid production, and of some Italian manufacturers of chemical compounds like ICP (for SSP, TSP, NPK fertilizers) and MARCHI (for Potassium Sulphate).

Resources and capabilities

230 employees
R&D Centre equipped with laboratories and full scale pilot plants
ISO 9000 Certification
Up to 150,000/year internal engineering hours capability
3-D computer design
All the range of services: from feasibility studies to turn-key projects
Project financing
Spare Parts supply with extra-short delivery times
22 field engineers for mechanical supervision, plant commissioning /start-up, troubleshooting.
DBI can also offer counter-trade and/or buyback and/or off-take contracts of the production related to projects, also thru its associated company Temix International Srl, Via Piero Portaluppi, 17, 20138 Milano – Italy (c/o Mr. Roberto Cella), 
Phone ++39-02-5099431
global@temixint.com

DBI Code of Ethics and Model 231 (Italian)
DBI Code of Ethics and Model 231 (English)