Lanxess will manufacture light plastic in the country

The German group Lanxess will open in early 2014 its seventh factory in Brazil. The new unit will produce high-tech plastics for the automotive industry, the so-called engineering plastics, in Porto Feliz (São Paulo). The value, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, Axel Heitmann said that the unity of the State of São Paulo will become the first in Latin America Group chemical polo.
The Executive has not reported the value of investments. "We are still under review," said Heitmann. Lanxess is making strong bets in this segment. The company already produces these high-tech plastics in Germany, China, India and the United States. The expectation is that the plastics replace metal parts of cars, making them lighter. "Brazil has a strategic importance for the group. The demand for such technology has grown in recent years, "he said.
The Porto Feliz already concentrates the production of iron oxide inorganic pigments for construction industry, paints and plastics, and bladders (used in the manufacturing process of tires). The bladders unit was officially opened yesterday and consumed investments of r $ 25 million. In this factory, will be produced 170 thousand units per year. The group, which is one of the largest global producers of high performance rubbers, decided to enter in the bladders for two and a half years, with the purchase of Argentine company Darmex. Months later, acquired the American Tire Curing Bladders. These products tend to be outsourced, Lanxess realized that there was an opportunity to have its own production.
The Brazil accounts for about 10% of global turnover of Lanxess, which ended last year at € 9.1 billion. In addition to the two units in operation in Porto Feliz (São Paulo), the company has a synthetic rubber production unit in Cabo de Santo Agostinho (PE), two in Triunfo (RS)-one of them produces EPDM rubber (facing seal for cars) and other high-performance rubber (E-SBR), in addition to a factory in Duque de Caxias (RJ) for standard rubber (SBR). In March, the German group announced investment of € 80 million to convert one of their units of triumph to produce rubber facing "green tyres".
Driven by the good performance of the automotive industries in Brazil, the Group has made investments in the country, despite the adverse scenario for the chemical sector.
Since last November, the European Union requires labeling on tires with information on safety and environmental aspects of the product, similar to the energy label appliances. This tag facilitates the comparison of tires in terms of grip in wet conditions, fuel efficiency and noise. In Brazil, the labelling will be required from 2016. Projections indicate that global demand for high-performance tire increase 77% between 2010 and 2015.
Second, the local subsidiary Heitmann can become export base of the group. However, the Executive is worried about the high cost of production in Brazil. "The Government should work hard to create a stronger and more competitive," he said.
Lanxess was founded in 2004 as a result of the spin-off of Bayer's business. The company became a global reference in the manufacture of rubber for tires. In recent years, has grown through important acquisitions. In Brazil, the company gained greater robustness in 2007 with the acquisition of Petroflex, the world's largest producer of synthetic rubber from Latin America by 370 million euros, and DSM elastomers by 310 million euros.