Feed Phosphates

Phosphates have long been core products for Tessenderlo Group. Production of inorganic feed phosphates on an industrial scale began at the original Tessenderlo, Belgium, factory in 1929, using an innovative crystallisation process based on the dissolution of rock phosphate using hydrochloric acid produced by the company itself. Subsequently, the range was extended to include chemically manufactured mono- and mono-dicalcium phosphate, as well as magnesium and mono-ammonium phosphates.

Output capacity was expanded in 1995 by the acquisition of the factory in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This produces special types of inorganic feed phosphates primarily for worldwide export under the WINDMILL brand name. In 1999, another plant came was added at Cologna-Veneta, near Verona in Italy, to serve the Italian market and surrounding countries.
Today, with a total capacity of over 800,000 tons a year, Tessenderlo Group is one of the world's largest producers of inorganic feed phosphates and its products set the standard for quality all over the world.

Through its well-developed distribution channel, Tessenderlo Group also commercialises other feed ingredients that have an important place in animal nutrition and/or follow the new trends in animal nutrition.

Phosphorus, the essential element

Mineral elements are known to have many different functions in animal nutrition, and a range of macro- and micro-elements has been identified as essential. One of these vital elements is phosphorus, which is the second most abundant mineral in the animal body after calcium. Phosphorus plays a major metabolic role and has more physiological functions than other elements. It is, for example, involved in the development and maintenance of skeletal tissue (80% of the phosphorus is found in the bones), as well as in energy utilisation and transfer, and in the maintenance of osmotic and acid-base balances.
The most common symptoms associated with phosphorus deficiency are: reduction in live weight gain caused by loss of appetite, leg disorders, reduced hatchability, reduced fertility and vulnerability to specific diseases. An adequate supply of phosphorus in the feed is, therefore, crucial to the health and optimal production of livestock.