PITTSBURGH, Aug. 20, 2004 (PRNewswire) -- A new name with a long tradition of innovation and technical expertise has emerged in the U.S. market for chemicals, synthetic rubber, and plastics, with the launch of LANXESS Corp., the company announced today.
Formed through a restructuring of the Bayer Group, the new company LANXESS is scheduled to leave the group at the beginning of 2005.
"LANXESS is open for business," said Randall S. Dearth, president and CEO. "Our name is new, and so is our mission: to be the preferred, low-cost and quality global source of commodity rubber, plastics, and chemical products and related technical and custom manufacturing services. One thing has not changed: our spirit of technical innovation and devotion to customer satisfaction."
Dearth said the formation of LANXESS and its separation from Bayer will enable the new company to concentrate its resources on core businesses and speed decision-making in order to respond to customer needs more rapidly and anticipate market trends more effectively. As a stand-alone company, LANXESS will also have greater freedom to develop niche markets and explore new business models, he said.
With annual sales of nearly $7.4 billion, or 6 billion euros, LANXESS expects to be a major player in the global chemical industry through a broad portfolio of products from four general categories comprising the following individual business units:
* Chemical intermediates - basic chemicals, fine chemicals, and inorganic pigments;
* Engineering plastics - semi-crystalline (nylon) and styrenics;
* Performance chemicals - Borchers paint additives; Dorlastan Fibers LLC (spandex); functional chemicals; Sybron Chemicals Inc. (ion exchange resins); leather-, paper-, and textile-processing chemicals; material protection products; Rhein Chemie Corporation (additives and custom chemicals); and rubber chemicals;
* Synthetic Rubber - butyl rubber, polybutadiene rubber, technical rubber products.
In the United States, LANXESS Corp. products are manufactured at 10 sites: Addyston, Chardon, and Newark OH; Birmingham and Trenton, NJ; New Martinsville, WV; Bushy Park Industrial Park and Wellford, SC; and Orange and Baytown, TX.
LANXESS Corp. was formed when the Bayer Group combined most of its chemical businesses and large segments of its polymer activities. The company began operating as a legal entity in the United States on July 1, 2004. LANXESS Corporation will be a member of the newly formed LANXESS Group, whose ultimate holding company is scheduled to be listed on a stock exchange in Germany at the beginning of 2005. Bayer intends to divest itself of LANXESS through a spin-off, which would lead to a distribution of LANXESS shares to Bayer AG shareholders.
LANXESS is an international chemical company that manufactures high- quality products in the areas of chemicals, synthetic rubber, and plastics. The company's portfolio comprises basic and fine chemicals, pigments, plastics, fibers, synthetic rubber, and rubber chemicals, leather-, textile-, and paper-processing chemicals, material protection products, and water treatment products.
LANXESS Corporation employs about 2,100 persons in the United States and generates total annual sales of about $1.5 billion. For further information, visit www.us.lanxess.com.
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