LANXESS recently completed an important step in its Asia strategy by acquiring one of China’s largest iron oxide pigment plants. With this acquisition, LANXESS has reached a major milestone of its expansion into China. Located around 70 kilometers from Shanghai, the plant in the Jinshan Industrial Park will produce inorganic pigments. With a total annual capacity of approximately 30,000 tons, the ultra-modern plant is the largest facility for yellow iron oxide pigments in China and the third-largest factory in this segment worldwide. Among the company’s most important customers in China is the construction industry, which continues to be one of the country’s most rapidly expanding sectors, with annual growth rates of five percent. Other consumers of LANXESS pigments include the paint and coatings industry and manufacturers of plastic and paper.

Focus on environmental protection

The LANXESS plant in Jinshan is not only one of the world’s most productive facilities for iron oxide pigments; it is also one of the most environmentally friendly. This factor greatly influenced LANXESS in its decision to acquire the plant because the company is committed to ensuring the sustainability of its business operations. This is why LANXESS has established globally binding environmental protection standards. These principles are specified in the company’s HSEQ (Health, Safety, Environment, Quality) guidelines, which are also rigorously enforced at the Chinese plant. In addition to its commitment to environmental protection and comprehensive resource conservation, LANXESS has a clear responsibility to its employees. It has therefore committed itself to using cutting-edge production methods and advanced equipment for ensuring employee safety. In this way, the company is showing that economic growth, environmental protection, and social responsibility can be reconciled.

Laying the strategic groundwork for success

The acquisition of the Jinshan plant is of great strategic importance for LANXESS because the new facility makes LANXESS the world’s only company operating its own iron oxide production sites in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Together with the plant in Taopu, China, the facility in Jinshan will ensure that LANXESS is in close proximity to its customers in the Asian growth markets. The acquisition of production operations in Jinshan is also a key to the overall strategy of LANXESS’ Inorganic Pigments Business Unit. This is because the new plant enables LANXESS to use its extensive logistics expertise to offset bottlenecks at other production sites, something no other company in the industry can do. The primary benefit of the new Chinese plant is that it makes LANXESS one of the most attractive, most reliable business partners in the world when it comes to high-quality iron oxide pigments.