Industry News

Lanxess: Selling Urethane Business Unit  Link...

Lanxess has initiated the sale of its Urethane Systems business unit. The unit is the last remaining polymer business within Lanxess and no longer fits with its strategic orientation. The unit has a global presence with 6 production plants.

Lanxess: Cooperation with TotalEnergies on Sustainable Styrene  Link...

LANXESS and TotalEnergies have entered into a cooperation on the supply of biocircular styrene. Unlike conventional styrene, the raw material used by TotalEnergies is based on tall oil, which is derived from a tree resin and is a by-product of pulp production.

LANXESS uses the styrene to produce sustainable ion exchange resins. These products are applied primarily in the treatment of wastewater and chemical process flows as well as in the food industry.

The sustainable origin of the styrene is certified in accordance with the mass balance approach of the ISCC PLUS standard . Under the mass balance approach, the certified and non-certified materials are mixed physically, but kept separately on a book keeping basis. This method allows companies to document and track the sustainable materials through the complex production process and ensures the full tracibility through the entire supply chain.

Emerald Performance Materials L.L.C: Closing Illinois Manufacturing Site  Link...

Emerald Performance Materials is closing its Illinois manufacturing site listed as plastics and resin manufacturing in its WARN notice. This site was not included in the recently announced acquistion of Emerald Performance Materials by Lanxess.

Lanxess: Signs Contract to Acquire Emerald Kalama Chemical  Link...

LANXESS has signed a binding agreement to acquire 100 percent shares in Emerald Kalama Chemical on February 14, 2021. The US-based company is a globally leading manufacturer of specialty chemicals, especially for the consumer segment which generates 75 percent of its turnover. The remaining 25 percent comes from the speciality chemicals business for industrial applications, including plastics and adhesives.

Lanxess: Vegan Based Rubber Processing Promoter  Link...

Lanxess has added a plant-based raw material variant to its Aktiplast PP product range. Aktiplast PP-veg, which is based on renewable raw materials, was developed specifically in response to a customer requirement from Asia.

Unlike the conventional product, Aktiplast PP-veg is manufactured only from vegetable oils. The proportion of renewable raw materials in Aktiplast PP-veg is around 90 percent, so that its CO2 footprint is significantly reduced. The starting point are raw materials made from the fruits of oil palms. They are ecologically more sustainable than coconut palms, rapeseed or sunflowers, as they provide by far the highest oil yield per hectare of farmland area.

The processing promoter is particularly suitable for polymer blends based on natural rubber. It reduces the viscosity of rubber compounds and significantly improves injection and extrusion behavior, also in combination with functionalized polymers. Depending on the compound composition, the product improves scorch behavior, promotes vulcanization and ensures easy demolding without contamination of the mold.

Lanxess: Expands Masterbatch Range for Efficient Rubber Reinforcement  Link...

Lanxess is expanding its masterbatch range for efficient rubber reinforcement.

Rhenogran P91-40/Q has a silicone carrier combined with short-fiber aramid pulp and is suitable for high temperature, durable and wear resistant silicone items such as washers and seals.

Rhenogran P91-40/FKM has a flourinated rubber carrier combined with short-fiber aramid pulp and is suitable for high performance products such as those used in aviation.

Rhenogran CNT masterbatches are under development for special applications requiring resistance to high mechanical stress. Single wall CNT masterbatches have a concentration between 1 and 2% and multi-wall CNT's have a concentration of more than 10%. They can be diluted up to 20 times for final use and offer excelption thermal and electrical conductivity. Examples of use include anti-static properites.

Lanxess: Starts production at EPDM plant China  Link...

Cologne/Changzhou - German specialty chemicals company LANXESS has successfully started its new EPDM plant in Changzhou (Jiangsu Province), China. With the gradual ramp-up of the new plant LANXESS completes its global EPDM (ethylene propylene diene rubber) asset base. Over the next months LANXESS will be running sampling and approbation processes with customers. The new plant will produce in total ten premium grades of EPDM tailored to Chinese and Asian customer needs. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 160,000 metric tons per year. It is located at the well-established Changzhou Yangtze Riverside Industrial Park, with access to excellent storage and ship uploading facilities.

Lanxess: Lanxess stopping EPDM production at Marl site  Link...

In August 2014, LANXESS presented a three-phase realignment program. The first phase, focused on improving the competitiveness of the company’s business and administrative structure, including a reduction of around 1,000 positions worldwide, has largely been completed. The reduction of around 500 positions in Germany mainly affected administrative functions and was achieved without dismissals for operational reasons. A further 500 positions are being reduced outside Germany. To date, solutions have been found for about 70 percent of the employees affected. From the end of 2015, LANXESS will achieve savings of around EUR 120 million due to the first-phase measures, rising to EUR 150 million annually from the end of 2016. The company has also initiated the first measures from the second phase, which is aimed at improving operational competitiveness. In light of current market overcapacities for synthetic rubbers, LANXESS is optimizing its production networks for ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber and neodymium-based performance butadiene rubber (Nd-PBR). The company intends to stop EPDM rubber production at its Marl, Germany, site at the end of 2015. Within LANXESS’ EPDM production network, the Marl facility is the least competitive due to economy of scale limitations and comparatively high energy and raw material costs.

Lanxess: Rhein Chemie 2013 Results  Link...

Mannheim, Germany – Rhein Chemie, a wholly owned subsidiary of specialty chemicals company Lanxess, achieved global sales of €346m in fiscal 2013, a slight increase over the previous year’s €344m. The firm said the “strong euro in particular put a dampener on sales development”. The Lanxess group generated sales of €8.3bn in 2013. Rhein Chemie earned almost half its sales, or €154m, in Europe. The US is now its largest market with sales of €65m. China posted the highest growth – sales rose by 12 percent over the previous year to €50m. “We have already integrated our acquisitions extremely successfully into Rhein Chemie,” said Dr. Anno Borkowsky, CEO and President of Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH. “In the past fiscal year, we also opened new production facilities for bladders and rubber additives and expanded existing facilities to serve as a basis for future growth.” Rhenoshape high-performance bladders for tires are produced in its new plant in Porto Feliz, Brazil. The new production site in Lipetsk, Russia, produces the “globally successful” Rhenogran product line (predispersed polymer-bound rubber additives) used for manufacturing tires, seals and damping elements. At its site in Qingdao, China, Rhein Chemie has further expanded its Rhenogran production capacity by adding another production line. After an 18-month construction period involving a total investment of €2.5m, Rhein Chemie last year expanded a facility at its Mannheim headquarters for producing additives for lubricant manufacturers and plastics processors.

Lanxess: Start up of new Neoprene production line  Link...

Dormagen, Germany – Lanxess has officially started up a new polychloroprene production line, marking the completion of an €18-million investment at its Dormagen site, the company announced 18 June. The project has increased solid rubber production capacity at the site by around 10 percent to 63 kilotonnes per annum, said Lanxess. The existing production lines, it added, will remain in operation to meet customer demand for ‘traditional’ Baypren polychloroprene grades. The new line features a specially developed ‘dry-finishing’ technology, which is designed to reduce emissions and the levels of energy and water used in the production of polychloroprene.

Lanxess: Q1 2014 Results  Link...

Cologne, Germany – Specialty chemicals group Lanxess said it expects EBITDA pre exceptionals of around €200m for the first quarter of 2014. In the prior-year quarter, the company posted EBITDA pre exceptionals of €174m that was “burdened by several factors including start-up costs”. Lanxess also confirmed the preliminary figures for fiscal 2013 published on 26 February. Key points: Full-year 2013 sales fell by nine percent to €8.3bn. EBITDA pre exceptionals declines by 40 percent to €735m. Group net loss of €159m impacted by impairment charges. Proposed dividend of €0.50 per share. Q1 2014 EBITDA pre exceptionals expected to be around €200m. "Behind us lies a challenging year," said Lanxess Chief Financial Officer Bernhard Duettmann. "Negative effects were the volatile raw material prices and increasing competition, especially in the synthetic rubber business." The company will propose to the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on 22 May that a dividend of €0.50 per share be paid for 2013. This would result in a total dividend payment of around €42m. A dividend of €1.00 per share was paid for 2012. Outlook for 2014: Lanxess expects the market environment for synthetic rubber to remain challenging in 2014 in light of the competitive and capacity situation. Exchange rates, in particular the US Dollar, are likely to continue their volatile development. The same applies to raw material costs, albeit at a comparatively moderate level. Earnings in the first quarter of 2014 will also be impacted by the effects of a strike at the company’s site in Zwijndrecht, Belgium. Butyl rubber production there has been at a standstill for around three weeks. For the full year 2014, Lanxess is anticipating a slight improvement in EBITDA pre exceptionals, due alone to the absence of one-time items, even if selling prices remain at low levels. For the current year, Lanxess is planning capital expenditures at the same level as in 2013. Most of these will go toward the construction of the world-scale plant for Nd-PBR (neodymium-based performance butadiene rubber) in Singapore and for the construction of the plant for EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) rubber in China. Both plants are scheduled to come on stream in 2015. In the third quarter of 2014, a world-scale facility for polyamides will start operation at the site in Antwerp, Belgium. As of 2015, capital expenditures should decrease substantially and be used predominantly to expand and maintain existing facilities.

Lanxess: Butyl Rubber Process  Link...

ZWIJNDRECHT, Belgium—Lanxess A.G. concluded the pilot phase for what it said is a highly efficient production process for butyl rubber. The firm has developed this technology for a more sustainable production process for the last seven years. It said an important step in the process was testing the technology at two pilot plants at its production site in Zwijndrecht since spring 2012.

Lanxess: Raises Prices For Rubber Chemicals Worldwide  Link...

COLOGNE, Germany—Lanxess A.G. will raise its prices worldwide for its rubber chemicals, effective April 1, due to higher raw material prices and unfavorable exchange rates. Increases will range from 15 cents to $1 depending on the product and the region. The increase will impact all product lines including Vulkanox antidegradants, Vulkacit accelerators and specialty chemicals like bonding agents, retarders, plasticizers, zinc oxides and DBD based peptizers.