LANXESS invests EUR 15 million in its glass fiber plant in Antwerp

LANXESS produces at its Antwerp site Lillo Caprolactam, a pre-product for the high-tech plastic Durethan. Durethan is needed amongst others in the automotive industry. The location of the Caprolactam plant in the world harbor Antwerp is a main logistics advantage.

LANXESS is investing EUR 15 million in its glass fiber plant in the Antwerp docklands. For the specialty chemicals company glass fibers are a key intermediate for the production of high-tech plastics. With the expansion, the actual annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons will increase by 10 percent. The announcement was made during a LANXESS High-Tech Plastics Day at the facilities for caprolactam and glass fibers in Belgium. With the investment the glass fiber plant will replace both furnaces.

“The high-tech plastics business is a major growth driver for LANXESS. There is attractive business potential in the global market arising from the increasing demand for modern mobility as well as from the electric and electronic markets,” stated Werner Breuers, member of the Board of Management of LANXESS AG. The global demand for high-tech plastics is expected to increase by roughly seven percent per year through 2020.

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Just before summer an investment project of EUR 35 million to expand the production of the plastic intermediate caprolactam at the site in the Antwerp docklands was finalized. The production capacity of 200,000 metric tons per year will be increased by another 10 percent.

LANXESS has been investing substantial amounts in the expansion of its global production network for high-tech plastics during the last 18 months. Including the glass fibers expansion, recent investments for high-tech plastics account for EUR 90 million. LANXESS’ Semi-Crystalline Products (SCP) business unit is a leading supplier of premium high-tech plastics. New compounding facilities are being built in the United States and Asia. In the existing compounding plants investments are being made to increase capacity.

More information: lanxess.com

LANXESS AG, Leverkusen, Germany

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