Lanxess Signs Agreement with China’s BRDI

Only days after announcing its intention of investing around 400 million euros in a new facility in Asia, Lanxess’s Polybutadiene Rubber business unit has signed a three-year co-operation agreement with the Beijing Research & Design Institute of Rubber Industry (BRDI). The BRDI is China’s national testing centre for tyres and a leading research institute, possessing both the facilities and staff required to engage in advanced research into tyre and rubber products, engineering design for the rubber industry, machinery and equipment and testing of rubber and rubber articles.

“The co-operation will put our efforts to explore and further penetrate the world’s fastest growing tyre market on a firm footing,” said Christoph Kalla, head of Marketing in Lanxess’s Polybutadiene Rubber business unit. “It will also make use of BRDI’s respective strength in customising the application of Lanxess’s high-performance polybutadiene rubber and solution styrene-butadiene rubber grades in China.

“To generate even more awareness of Lanxess’s products, marketing activities in China will be extended substantially,” he added. “With BRDI’s expertise and facilities, we shall demonstrate the superior quality of our products to support rapid development, especially of high-performance tyres in the Chinese market.”

The Asia Pacific region is stated as a key business area for Lanxess. With sales growing to 1.23 billion euros, Asia’s share of Lanxess group sales increased to just under 18 per cent in 2006. This upsurge is being driven by the Chinese and Indian markets, where sales growth reached double figures. The German company inaugurated five new plants in China as part of the “Lanxess goes Asia” initiative concluded in April 2006, and is set to recruit up to 1,000 new employees in Asia by 2009.