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news.Lanxess, a specialty chemicals company, is set to expand production in its butyl rubber plant in Zwijndrecht, Belgium, by an extra 14,000 metric tons per year with an investment of EUR20m.
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The expansion will take place in the third quarter of 2011 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2012.
Lanxess said that the new capacities will help to serve the rising demand for tires that is being driven by the global mega-trend towards greater mobility. In addition, the distinct properties of butyl rubber make it an important product of choice for the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in Asia.
Additionally, in May 2010, by investing EUR400m, Lanxess had inaugurated a new butyl rubber facility on Jurong Island, Singapore, with a total capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year. The plant is expected to start up in the first quarter of 2013.
Axel Heitmann, chairman of the board of management at Lanxess, said: “Overall demand for butyl rubber has returned to pre-crisis levels already this year. And in the coming decade, we expect demand to grow further so that the new capacities in Antwerp and from our upcoming plant in Singapore will be fully absorbed by the market.”