LANXESS in India

LANXESS marked the beginning of the year by inaugurating its new Material Protection Products (MPP) and Rhein Chemie (RCH) production facilities in Jhagadia, Gujarat state, in India. Over a period of ten months the production facilities were relocated from Madurai, Tamil Nadu state, to the company’s site in Jhagadia. It now becomes the third plant which started on the Jhagadia site following the Rubber Chemicals and the Ion Exchange Resins business unit plant.

The plant opening ceremony was officially opened by Dr. Rainier van Roessel, Member of the Board of Management, Dr. Joerg Strassburger, Managing Director & Country Representative of the LANXESS India, Dr. Anno Borkowsky, CEO and President of RCH business unit, and Dr. Torsten Derr, Head of Material Protection Products business unit. The inauguration was attended by Jhagadia plant employees and MPP/RCH employees from all other locations around India.

The MPP business unit is expected to provide a range of biocidal active ingredients and preservatives to sectors such as wood protection products, industrial preservatives, disinfectants and beverages while the RCH plant will offer customized and service products for various sectors of the rubber, lubricant and plastics industry.

Rainier van Roessel, Member of the Board of Management: "The plant opening in Jhagadia fit into a bigger picture. In September 2011 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opened the “Indian-German year 2011-2012” laying the focus one of the largest growth markets in the world. This will be a big year for India and Germany and also for LANXESS, India is a very promising market and so this year starts off perfectly with a strong commitment to India and the further strengthening of our site Jhagadia as a specialty chemicals hub for the region. We are currently employing some 285 people at the Jhagadia site but are determined to stock up that number. Ever since LANXESS decided to make our major growth investments in the BRIC countries, India has gained significant importance. Our acquisition of Gwalior in 2009 was highly successful and adds to our sales numbers in India. Just to give an example: In 2010 our sales on the subcontinent were EUR 179 million, now we have surpassed that with EUR 184 million in the first nine months of 2011 – with three more months to go. The four megatrends mobility, water, urbanization and agriculture – which we are gearing our operations towards – are especially visible here and we have a vast market to sell our products to. The main industry that we sell our high-tech rubbers and plastics to is the automotive market…and that is supposed to grow by 15 percent by 2015. Also the construction industry is growing – experts predict a growth to exceed 9 percent by 2015. This is why we are investing in India – to strengthen our production sites for the even greater boom in India that is to come."

"Overall, LANXESS has invested around EUR 70 million in the Jhagadia site to date and is the growing specialty chemicals hub for LANXESS in India. The new facility was constructed on an area totaling 180,000 square meters. Jhagadia is conveniently located with excellent links to international ports. This ensures that Jhagadia serves as a perfect platform to supply our customers not only in the rapidly-growing local market but also in the whole Asia-Pacific region! Last but not least, the construction of Jhagadia was also a great opportunity to incorporate state-of –the-art technology when it comes to environment safety: Already during the planning phase, strict standards going beyond the stipulations of the authorities and regional environmental specifications applied. The wastewater is pre-cleaned in a separate wastewater treatment plant by LANXESS before it is released into the chemical park’s wastewater system. Huge amounts have been invested in environmentally friendly energy generation. LANXESS uses a cogeneration plant for the company’s own power station. This is run on natural gas. In total, around 20 percent of total construction costs were used for sustainability projects."