Lanxess to make new EPDM grades in Texas

Orange, Texas — Despite its more than $300-million investment into a new EPDM facility in China, and confirmation that it is facing rubber overcapacities in the market, Lanxess AG is still pumping money into itsUS manufacturing operations.

The firm has developed four new EPDM grades that will be made at its plant in Orange.

And while the company normally favours having local production to serve customers in each specific region, two of the products, at least initially, will be made exclusively in Orange and sold globally, according to Juergen Gunther, Lanxess Elastomers BV vice president of marketing and sales for Keltan elastomers.

Introduction of the new grades follows a recent $27-million (€23.7 million) investment to upgrade the facility and improve product quality.

That project included implementing an improved catalyst activation technology at Orange, which the firm said brought its manufacturing operation in line with the technology used at its other Keltan-brand EPDM production sites.

“The plant is an integral part for us in our whole global structure,” said Michael Assaf, who took over late last year as regional NAFTA business head for its high performance elastomers unit. “Part of the global strategy is what we're doing in building the China plant, but we've had significant investments in the Orange plant as well.”

One of the new grades, Keltan 9565Q, is an ultra-high molecular weight EPDM that is being developed to match the strength and resilience of natural rubber but also to maintain its superior properties, even after exposure to high temperature, unlike NR.

Lanxess is aiming this grade at automotive applications such as mounts, bushings and dampers, along with some industrial uses, and as a polymer for production of thermoplastic vulcanizates. It will be particularly useful in under-the-hood applications where temperatures are increasing because engines are getting smaller, Gunther said.

Keltan 9565Q is one of the two grades that will be produced in Orange and marketed not only to customers in North America but also around the world, Gunther said.

Among the company's other new products are Keltan 3250Q is for use in tires, inner tubes, conveyor belts and as a blend with butyl rubber for a variety of applications; Keltan 5470Q for use in such automotive hoses and solid seal systems; Keltan 7470Q DE for automotive applications, including hoses and seals.