LEVERKUSEN, Germany, March 3, 2010 -- The specialty chemicals company LANXESS has completed the first phase of construction of its new site in Jhagadia, Gujarat state, India. The production of the rubber chemicals plant was started up, as planned, after being relocated from Thane, Maharashtra state.
The plant features the latest technology and was constructed over a period of less than two years. It will supply the global rubber and mineral oil additive market as well as the rapidly growing Indian tire and rubber industry with high-quality antioxidants belonging to LANXESS' Vulkanox® brand.
LANXESS is investing about EUR 50 million in total at the 13 hectare Jhagadia site, which will also include a new ion exchange resins plant. This plant is on schedule to start up production this year and will be the most modern of its kind in Asia. Some 250 workers in total will be employed by LANXESS at the site.
The ion exchange resins plant will manufacture products for industrial water treatment, for the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries, for food production and for power generation. There is a growing demand for clean water due to a booming population and the trend towards urbanization in India.
The LANXESS site is part of the newly-developed Jhagadia Chemical Park. The park, which is a project supported by the local government, is the home to other large companies and provides the necessary infrastructure required for operations. For example, there is an inland waterway to the international seaports of Nhava Sheva and Kandla on India's west coast.
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently about 14,600 employees in 23 countries. The company is represented at 43 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
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