LANXESS expands Jhagadia site to serve booming Indian market

LANXESS is continuing to expand its Indian production site in Jhagadia, Gujarat state. The specialty chemicals group is underlining its commitment to the subcontinent by inaugurating three new plants this month to serve the growing India market. LANXESS has invested over EUR 70 million and created roughly 300 new jobs at the site.

Recently, the company’s Semi-Crystalline Products business unit started production at the site’s new plant for high-tech plastics used by the automotive industry, including leading car manufacturers Tata Motors, Volkswagen and Ford. Furthermore, the Material Protection Products business unit inaugurated a plant for biocides used in the construction industry. LANXESS subsidiary Rhein Chemie also started up a plant for release agents and additives used in the manufacturing of tires and rubber products. Both plants were relocated from a former site in Madurai, Tamil Nadu state, during the course of last year.

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“LANXESS is heavily investing in the Indian subcontinent and this commitment has already paid off: We surpassed our 2010 sales already in the first nine months of 2011,” said Werner Breuers, Member of the Board of Management of LANXESS, at the inauguration ceremony. “By concentrating many of our assets in Jhagadia, we are creating a specialty chemicals hub catering to the booming local market and the Asia region – and there is potentially further room at the site for expansion.”

The Indian economy is expected to grow by eight percent this year, driven by strong demand for premium products for the automotive, tire and construction industries. Global automakers, as well as their suppliers, are already active in India and are investing in new plants on the subcontinent. The growing middle-class in India is driving the trend towards greater mobility. The country’s automotive industry is expected to grow by 9.5 percent this year.

LANXESS not only expanded its Jhagadia site this month, but also opened its new head offices in Thane, Maharashtra state that will be home to 225 employees. LANXESS currently employs roughly 860 people in India and achieved sales of EUR 184 million in the first nine months of 2011.

More information: www.lanxess.com

LANXESS AG, Leverkusen, Germany

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