German specialty chemicals company Lanxess has started up a nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) plant in Nantong, China, as part of its 50:50 joint venture with Taiwan’s TSRC Corporation. The two companies have jointly invested approx. €39 million, which has an initial annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons. Some 100 new jobs have been created through the investment. China is the world’s biggest and fastest-growing NBR market, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 10%. “The new plant is the most modern of its kind in Asia and will address the needs of the two leading megatrend
s in China – rapid urbanization and growing mobility,” said Axel C. Heitmann, Chairman of the Board of Management at LANXESS, during the official opening ceremony.
