Rubber Journal Asia

Lanxess cuts BR output in Europe and invests in India
Having put on hold the groundbreaking ceremony for its Singaporean butyl plant and pushed the start-up to 2012, speciality chemicals group Lanxess will now reduce production at its plants in Sarnia, Canada, and Zwijndrecht, Belgium.

In the coming months, the plants will either be operating at reduced capacity or will be temporarily shut down for several weeks, which will allow for routine maintenance work. About 360 employees are affected by the measures. Flexible working time arrangements for the employees, such as reduction of overtime and use of annual vacation, will be implemented in Canada. Employees in Belgium will be put on short-time working.

The butyl rubber business unit is one of the leading producers of synthetic rubber, with annual sales of over EUR500 million, and is part of the Performance Polymers segment that had sales of EUR2.5 billion in the first nine months of 2008.

Across the globe in India, Lanxess will invest EUR50 million in a new site in Jhagadia, Gujarat, making it the largest and most modern production facility for the company in India. The investment will create about 225 new jobs. The new site will include an ion exchange resin plant, which will supply products for the generation of ultra-pure water for the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries and for industrial water treatment.

In addition, its rubber chemicals plant will be relocated to Jhagadia from Thane, Maharashtra state. The production activities in Thane will be phased out gradually and will restart in Jhagadia along with the ion exchange resin plant in 2010.