Expansion on two shores

Lanxess has decided to expand the global capacity of its high-performance rubber Neodymium Polybutadiene (Nd-PBR). The company will invest about 20 million euro to increase production by an additional 50,000 metric tons per annum at its sites in Dormagen (Germany), Orange (USA) and Cabo (Brazil). The extra capacities will go on stream between 2011 and 2012.  The additional capacity will serve the global demand for Nd-PBR, which is expected to grow annually by close 10% in the next years. The positive development of Nd-PBR is being driven by the trend towards greater mobility – especially in Asia – as well as motorists, who are demanding higher environmental and safety standards in performance tires. Moreover, the European Union approved in November 2009 a new regulation, which stipulates that by November 2012 new tires sold in Europe have to be labeled for fuel efficiency, wet grip and external rolling noise, in order to reduce CO2 and noise emissions by promoting green tires that do not compromise on safety. The capacity expansions will be achieved through standard debottlenecking procedures.