Lanxess sets up rubber chemicals joint venture in China

Shanghai, China-With Lanxess AG's new joint venture, it intends to be the first western player to make antioxidants for the rubber industry in China.

The new company-Anhui Tong Feng Shengda Chemical Co. Ltd-is a three way venture between Lanxess, Xinda, an established chemicals manufacturer, and Anhui, an investment company.

The JV, in which Lanxess has a minority share, will start production in the second half of 2006 in an industrial park in Tongling, Anhui Province, said a statement from the Leverkusen-headquartered rubber and chemicals producer.

The Tongling plant will start making the antioxidant Vulkanox 4020 [6-PPD, or N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine] exclusively for sale in China. Lanxess says it currently makes this “important rubber chemical” at plants in Europe, India and the US.

"With this joint venture, we will gain access to the fastest growing tyre market in the world," said Martin Wienkenhöver, the Lanxess board member covering Asian business,

The JV will allow Lanxess to expand its position in China, he said. "Studies show that tyre production in China has grown by around 30 percent a year since the new millennium started," Wienkenhöver commented.