Speciality chemicals company Lanxess is expanding production capacity for Therban brand hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) at its facilities in Leverkusen, Germany, and Orange, Texas, by 40%. Lanxess will invest a “low single-digit million euro amount” in the expansion.
“We are responding to the significant increase in global demand for this high-performance rubber, as a vigorous continuation of our growth strategy,” said Günther Weymans, head of the company’s technical rubber products (TRP) business unit.
Work to enlarge the German and US production facilities has already begun. The expansion in Leverkusen is scheduled for completion in April 2012 and the Orange facilities will be ready by December 2012. The measures will create 15 new jobs, says Lanxess.
The company attributes double-digit annual growth in the HNBR rubber market to strong global demand from automotive manufacturers, especially in China and India.
Lanxess developed Therban for demanding applications, citing good resistance to high temperatures and to aggressive environments such as contact with fuels, oil and ozone. Therban is used in automotive applications to manufacture v-belts and toothed belts, and in the oil extraction industry for the stator/rotor systems of drill heads.
The TRP business unit is part of Lanxess’s performance polymers segment, which generated sales in 2010 of €3.78 bn.
(Source: http://www.prw.com/subscriber/newscat2.html?cat=1&channel=310&id=1302602842)
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