“Our lab feels like family” 

“I love my job. It feels like one big family,” Elvira Dzuzdanovic-Mesic says enthusiastically. The lab technician completed her education in the fine chemicals segment in 1999 and still works in the same field today - process development at LANXESS subsidiary Saltigo. Her enthusiasm for her job and her team is catching. 

The warm-hearted woman is particularly grateful to one person in the team: her former boss, Dr. Paetz. “When I was pregnant, I wasn't allowed to work in the lab due to German labor law. My boss offered his office to me and in doing so I was able to work. I wrote reports and did other things to support him.” The doctor of chemistry stepped in for Dzuzdanovic-Mesic in the laboratory and carried out her experiments with her colleagues. 

Tinkerers wanted 

What exactly is process optimization? A customer comes to Saltigo with a recipe, for example for a fungicide. Let´s say they want to shorten the production time while increasing the volume at the same time. The first step is to “cook” the customer's recipe, we call it a “technical package,” in technical jargon, without changing it.  

The team then identifies areas in this recipe that can be changed. These may be different substances, shorter process routes, or simply different temperatures. 

The first testing is based on a very small scale – one to five liters at most. Then we set up the appropriate equipment and conduct trials until we achieve the desired result. Once we have a solution, the recipe is scaled up to a larger quantity and we put it into pilot scale. If these results are confirmed, too, Saltigo produces the product for the customer on a large scale. 

And that's exactly what she likes: optimizing processes and testing new raw materials. She loves her job. You can tell by how enthusiastically she talks about it. She is particularly pleased that Saltigo wants to broaden its portfolio and also produce non-agricultural products in the future.  

She likes every product, whether solid or liquid. Because every process has its own charm and challenges. And: "I'm happy to have a job that isn't run-of-the-mill and offers me a lot of variety. Especially since I can see that my job is important."

She notices this every time she visits her former home, a small village in Bosnia where there is a lot of agriculture. “As soon as I see the fields being sprayed, my heart opens up. I know that people are using my formula to protect the plants and ensure their nutrition. It's a great feeling!” says Dzuzdanovic-Mesic proudly. 
​

From manual lab to high-tech  

A lot has changed in the lab over the past 20 years. Digitalization has arrived and many processes are now automated. The lab technician recalls: "When I started, we had one computer for three people. We wrote everything by hand. We had lab journals for the protocols and templates for the formulas. The pages of the lab journals were labeled. This ensured clear assignment for later patents. However, there was only one double page per experiment, and the space was strictly regulated—which was not always enough for a protocol."   

“Today, there is a digital lab journal where you can write as much as you want,” laughs Dzuzdanovic-Mesic. In addition, much of the work is now automated. In the past, lab technician had to manually operate funnels, for example. She shakes her head. "That was quite a challenge when only 100 ml of liquid could be added over five hours at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. Today, I tell the system what I need, it calculates everything for me and sets the equipment accordingly. That's very convenient."  

In addition, everyone on the team can immediately see the current status of their experiments. This is practical if a colleague suddenly falls ill. Everything is stored on the computer, so someone else can take over the experiment right away. 

Full speed ahead until retirement 

Over the years, a lot has changed in the laboratory world – the way of working, the techniques, company loyalty or the environment. But one thing has remained the same: “I love my job, I like LANXESS, and I will do this job until I retire.” What more could you want?