LANXESS China Rubber Days: Driving Sustainable Growth through Innovations   

By Lily Wang   

LANXESS has been very active in China over the last few years. The Germany-based chemical company in Greater China is recognized by the double-digit annual growth for sales since 2007, with the 2009 sales of approximately Euro 600 million. Furthermore, the world's leading producer of synthetic rubber, hosted its first-ever 'China Rubber Days' from June 28 to 29, 2010, in Macau, Greater China, themed 'Driving sustainable growth through high-tech innovation'.

Power of synthetic rubber
The story of rubber began in the laboratory more than one hundred years ago. It is the German laboratory of Elberfelder Farbenfabriken, a division of LANXESS' predecessor company.
   If Fritz Hofmann - the inventor of synthetic rubber, were alive today, he would be astonished by what his invention has actually created. A world on wheels - an immense global transportation system - over 800 million vehicles carries people and goods safely, comfortably and quickly every day in every corner of the world.
    Today LANXESS has created over one hundred chemical variants on the amazing substance Hofmann invented, is helping the industries of the world produce thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of products that are making this a better world in countless ways.
   Synthetic rubber not only goes into the advanced, high-performance tires on vehicles, it is also used for doors, trunks and window seals, for the V-belts and hoses that make the modern vehicles reliable, powerful and safe.
   It plays a major role in the global pharmaceutical industry.
   It is what makes today's tennis balls, soccer balls, basketballs and golf balls livelier than ever.
   Rubber is also what creates the shock absorbing cushioning in today's athletic shoes.
   It is used in the films that protect new cell phones, watches and computer screens from being scratched.
   It is what makes possible the practical production of solar electric panels.
   It is in children's chewing gum and the Space Shuttle.
   Just as significantly, the invention of synthetic rubber has improved people's lives in thousands of ways that the inventor never dreamed possible.

Growth in China
"LANXESS wants to grow hand-in-hand with its Chinese customers in the booming local market for synthetic rubber, which is expected to grow by 7% to 8% per year within the next five years," said Dr. Axel C. Heitmann, Chairman of the Board of Management in the China Rubber Days event. "China has already established itself as the world's largest automobile and tire producer and is quite rightly demanding the highest levels of innovation. This is exactly what LANXESS products can deliver."
   LANXESS' first quarter results benefited in particular from strong demand for synthetic rubber in countries such as China, whose growing middle-class is embracing the mega trend of mobility. For example, sales in the Chinese tire market are expected to increase almost fourfold by 2019 from 2008 levels. LANXESS carries on precursor legacy by developing high-quality and reliable synthetic rubber innovations for the Chinese domestic market.
   China now have the world's most dynamic economy, rubber will inevitably play a role in almost every aspect of China's future growth, like in urbanization, transportation networks, modern industrial production, and pharmaceuticals.
   In addition, China has become the world's number one automotive market. And the road ahead is wide open. However each additional vehicle placed into service on Chinese roads poses a challenge to the environment.
   "LANXESS is now hard at work with tire manufacturers to create tires that will reduce rolling resistance by up to 50% in the next few years. This will have a major impact on vehicle energy consumption throughout the world. This is possible thanks to our continuous innovation in high-performance rubbers enabling the manufacture of energy-saving "green" tires." Dr. Heitmann stresses.

Activities for the Chinese market
This May, LANXESS announced a joint venture to build a new nitrile rubber (NBR) plant in Nantong, Jiangsu province, with a total investment of US$50 million. The plant, expected to start up in 2012, will have an initial capacity of 30 000 tons per year and is going to serve the rapidly growing Chinese market with high-quality grades of NBR. (CCR2010 No. 10)
   Also in May, LANXESS additionally broke ground for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art butyl rubber plant in Singapore, which will also serve the Chinese market. This EUR400 million plant will go on stream in the first quarter of 2013 with an annual capacity of 100 000 tons.
   In addition, the company's innovative credentials are underlined by its research and development activities at a newly founded center in Qingdao, Shandong province, representing an investment of US$16 million. LANXESS is working closely with the Qingdao University of Science and Technology to develop high quality and eco-friendly products, prepare the commercialization of future inventions, and train staff with advanced technical expertise to meet the needs of customers in China.

LANXESS Rubber Days worldwide
Throughout 'China Rubber Days' event, participants have the opportunity to experience synthetic rubber up close at the company's audio-visual exhibition of products ranging from high-performance tires that are fuel-efficient to golf balls that fly further - all owed to LANXESS rubber.
    LANXESS hosted the first World Rubber Day in Cologne, Germany, on September 12, 2009. The company will be holding similar rubber events in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 22-24 and in New Delhi, India, on December 3, 2010.
   "We plan to establish this series of events as a permanent fixture in the global rubber industry. The attendees we meet here are key multipliers, through whom LANXESS can significantly increase its sales opportunities in growth markets," Mr. Heitmann remarks.