Lanxess Opens Qingdao Rubber Research Centre

China’s Qingdao region is firmly established as a tyre and rubber product manufacturing region of growing significance, and in recent years numerous domestic and global operators have set up facilities there. Newly added to the list of companies with a presence in Qingdao is chemical producer Lanxess, who on July 17 opened a joint operated rubber research centre. Established in cooperation with Qingdao’s University of Science and Technology (QUST), the Rubber Research Center (RRCQ) will conduct work for the company’s Technical Rubber Products, Butyl Rubber and Performance Butadiene Rubbers business units. Lanxess has invested 10 million euros in the centre’s establishment.

“With the opening the RRCQ today, we now expand our R&D network in this important market,” said Guenther Weymans, head of Lanxess’ Technical Rubber Products business unit. “Through our research network, Lanxess is strategically building up key competencies for sustainable success in China. It enables us to train skilled and loyal staff with high technical expertise to develop high quality products, which are environment-compatible and appropriate for the Chinese market.

“The new Lanxess research centre covers the entire research spectrum, from basic research and technical customer service to preparation for the commercial exploitation of new developments,” added Weymans. “The cooperation with QUST and the location in Qingdao are an ideal strategic fit for Lanxess. Around 50 per cent of the Chinese rubber industry is located in and around Qingdao, and QUST is the top university for Chinese rubber engineers, accounting for roughly 80 per cent of all graduates. It not only allows for the increasing importance of China as a research location, but makes an important contribution to ensure the company’s sustainable performance in the strategic Chinese rubber market.”

The Asia-Pacific region already accounts for around 40 per cent of the global synthetic rubber market, and Lanxess reports an expectation of high future growth rates, mainly driven by the Chinese rubber market. The company estimates this market will grow by 10 per cent annually by 2013. Lanxess already operates several rubber research facilities in China; in 2005 the company inaugurated a centre for technical rubber in Shanghai, and two years later the company’s Performance Butadiene Rubbers business unit signed a cooperation agreement with the Beijing Institute for Rubber Research.