LANXESS to expand global capacity of high-performance rubber

LANXESS has decided to expand the global capacity of its high-performance rubber Neodymium Polybutadiene (Nd-PBR) with an investment of about € 20 million to increase production by an additional 50,000 metric tonnes per annum at its sites in Germany, United States and Brazil. The extra capacities will go on stream between the first quarter of 2011 and first quarter of 2012. The additional capacity will serve the global demand for Nd-PBR, which is expected to grow annually by 10% in the coming years. Without this capacity expansion, there would be a worldwide product shortage for this type of material by 2014. The positive development of Nd-PBR is being driven by the trend towards greater mobility, as well as motorists who demand higher environmental and safety standards in performance tyres. The world抯 leading tyre manufacturers, who are supplied by LANXESS' global rubber manufacturing network, are responding to this demand by expanding production in the BRIC markets. www.lanxess.comNike Hyperdunk 2018