MOSCOW (MRC) -- LANXESS plans to expand production capacity for light-colour aminic antioxidants at its site in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, with the additional capacity expected to be available by the end of 2022, said the company.
Aminic antioxidants, which the Germany-based chemical company markets under the brand name Naugalube, are an additive in a range of transportation and industrial lubricants.
The expansion will be for several kilo tonnes, and the investment will be “an upper single-digit million Euro amount”, LANXESS said in a statement on Monday.
The investment would strengthen LANXESS’s “supply-chain resiliences” for the additive in Asia, North America and Europe, it said.
"We have seen rapid market growth in aminic antioxidants in the recent months and years,” says Martin Saewe, Head of LANXESS’s Lubricant Additives Business (LAB). “With our strategically located three assets in Canada, Italy and Taiwan and our backwards integration into the key raw material, we stand for supply resilience in the industry. We intend to use the additional capacity to strengthen our market position and to grow with our customers."
Veronika Sauer, Head of Marketing Lubricant Additives, says “To be ahead of the curve, we continue to develop safer, more sustainable, and higher performing antioxidants that are capable to meet changing market requirements. We are evaluating to offer some of these from our Taiwan site as well”.
LANXESS markets its aminic antioxidants under the brand name Naugalube.The investment at its Taiwan site will support globally harmonized specification of its flagship product Naugalube 438L – all sites will produce the antioxidant in light color. The liquid antioxidant is used in a broad range of transportation and industrial lubricants. With excellent high temperature performance, Nauglaube 438L reduces oil oxidation, prolongs lubricant life and extends service intervals.
As MRC reported earlier, LANXESS completed the second-largest acquisition in its history on August 3, 2021, with the takeover of Emerald Kalama Chemical. The US-based specialty chemicals manufacturer was majority-owned by affiliates of private equity firm American Securities LLC. All required regulatory approvals have been received. The enterprise value of Emerald Kalama Chemical was USD1.075 billion (EUR 900 million). After deducting liabilities, the purchase price was approximately USD 1.04 billion (EUR870 million), which LANXESS financed from existing liquidity.
Also recently, LANXESS and energy company bp are entering into a strategic partnership for the use of sustainable raw materials in high-tech plastics production. bp will supply sustainably produced cyclohexane to the LANXESS’ production site in Antwerp, Belgium, starting in the fourth quarter of 2021. The sustainable origin of the raw materials is certified according to ISCC Plus rules.
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