Lanxess (Cologne, Germany; www.lanxess.com) officially inaugurated its domestic PA/PBT compounding facility in Uerdingen on 28 April 2022 with Hendrik Wüst, premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on hand for the ceremony.

After a two-year delay, the additional compounding of glass-fibre-reinforced PA 6, PA 6.6, and PBT materials first went into operation at the end of last year (see Plasteurope.com of 08.12.2021). Lanxess did not provide any details at the time, but one reason for the delay could have been the economic slowdown in the automotive industry that emerged in 2019. The group has invested around EUR 50 mn in the expanded plastics production facility, creating 25 new jobs.

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At the new compounding plant, Lanxess produces engineering plastics under the Durethan (polyamide) and Pocan (PBT) brands used in the automotive sector and the electrical and electronics industry.

Electromobility is a growing field of application for the products from the High Performance Materials unit. Here, they are used for charging infrastructure as one example. According to figures available, worldwide compounding operations now amount to at least 220,000 t/y for Durethan and Pocan.

More than EUR 130 mn has been spent on construction at and expansion of several plants in Uerdingen over the past four years – Lanxess has invested around EUR 80 mn of this in the expansion of the hydrogenation plant of the Advanced Industrial Intermediates business unit. This plant produces various chemical intermediates used in plastics, pharmaceuticals, dyes, and coatings.