MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lanxess has announced that it is planning to invest approximately EUR200 million until 2021 to expand its global asset base for flame retardant additives, according to GV.
The company operates a strongly backward integrated production network for bromine and phosphorous based flame retardants with plants in the USA (Charleston, El Dorado, Greensboro), Germany (Leverkusen, Krefeld-Uerdingen), France (Epierre) and the United Kingdom (Manchester).
"With the acquisition of the US company Chemtura in spring 2017 we became one of the world’s leading suppliers of flame retardant additives. With the investment package we will further strenghten our strong position in this growing market," said Karsten Job, head of the Polymer Additives Business at Lanxess.
The company has significantly expanded its market position for flame retardant additives after integrating the former Chemtura businesses with brominated flame retardant additives, bromine and bromine derivatives, which complement Lanxess' existing business with phosphorus-based flame retardant additives.
In addition to the production network for flame retardants, Lanxess is running two technical development centres for these products in Naugatuck/USA and Leverkusen/Germany. "Out of Leverkusen and Naugatuck, we are driving global innovations like reactive and polymeric flame retardants," said Job. According to the company, its reactive and polymeric flame retardants, like Emerald Innovation 3000, enjoy a constant rise in demand as they offer a much better sustainability profile than standard flame retardants.
As MRC reported earlier, in December 2017, Lanxess announced the expansion of its Additives segment and plans to acquire the phosphorus chemicals business with a US production site from Belgian chemical group Solvay. Both companies signed an agreement to this effect.
Besides, Lanxess A.G. is expanding production of high-performance plastics at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site in Germany by building a new compounding facility at the North Rhine-Westphalia site. The Cologne-based specialty chemicals company said Sept. 19, 2018, that it was investing a "mid-double-digit million euro" amount in the new facility, which is scheduled to start operation in the second half of 2019.
Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with about 19,200 employees in 25 countries. The company is currently represented at 74 production sites worldwide. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. Through Arlanxeo, the joint venture with Saudi Aramco, Lanxess is also a leading supplier of synthetic rubber.
MRC