Groundbreaking for new Lanxess Nd-PBR plant

On 11 September, Lanxess broke ground on its new neodymium-based performance butadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) plant in Singapore. The facility is being built with an investment of around 200 million euros and is expected to start production in the first half of 2015. Planned annual capacity of 140,000 tonnes will serve the growing market for low rolling resistance tyres, particularly in Asia.

“We are delighted to be bringing another major rubber investment to Singapore, which underlines our commitment to green mobility,” said Axel C. Heitmann, chairman of the Lanxess Board of Management, at the groundbreaking ceremony on Singapore’s Jurong Island. “It is our company’s focus on technology that makes it possible to reduce rolling resistance in tyres and thus fuel consumption. This is good news for the consumer and the environment.”

The Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Private) Limited will supply the majority of the key raw material butadiene needed to produce Nd-PBR, while Singapore’s TP Utilities Pte. Ltd. (a wholly-owned unit of Tuas Power Ltd.) will provide steam to the new plant. Foster Wheeler Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. has been selected to carry out the detailed engineering and construction of the plant.

The new Nd-PBR plant will be located next to the company’s 400 million euro butyl rubber plant, which to-date is the company’s single-largest investment. The plant is expected to start up in the first quarter of 2013, as scheduled.