Champagne, fireworks, strangers hugging each other: despite freezing cold, thousands came out on December 21, 2007, to celebrate in cities like Zittau (where Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland meet) and Frankfurt/Oder at the German-Polish border, as well as on the border between Slovakia and Austria. They gathered to witness a historic event in places where concrete barriers, spring-guns, and soldiers with machine guns had once separated the peoples of Europe. At the stroke of midnight on the above-mentioned date, the last borders between Western and Eastern Europe were removed. Eighteen years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Eastern European member states of the European Union had officially become parties to the Schengen Agreement. The agreement now covers approximately 3.6 million square kilometers, enabling 400 million Europeans to travel freely and without passport controls through 24 countries – from Iceland and Portugal to Italy and the Baltic states. Along with being a triumph for freedom and a symbol of unity and international understanding, the Schengen Agreement has a very practical side to it, as it has done away with traffic jams at border checkpoints.

Open borders in Europe are also good for the economy, since they reduce the costs associated with cross-border business. Such business remains vital to both sides, because although Eastern Europe is booming, its huge demand for previously scarce consumer goods cannot be fully met by regional manufacturers. Formerly state-run companies, which were often run into the ground in the communist era, also desperately need new investment. Eastern Europe is therefore not only attractive as a new sales market but also as a production location. It's especially interesting for companies from Western Europe because, unlike Asian countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary etc. are practically right next door. It takes, for example, only one hour to fly from Frankfurt/Main to Prague, and just another half-hour to get to Budapest or Warsaw. Western Europeans also enjoy closer cultural ties with their neighbors in Eastern Europe than with the people of Asia. Although separated somewhat by language and lifestyle, they do share a common history and, as members of the EU, some common laws now as well.

Industry needs chemicals in order to produce goods. Whether it’s rubber for tire manufacturers, electronic chemicals for chip producers, or materials for the construction industry — markets in Eastern Europe are booming. “There’s a gold-rush atmosphere there,” says LANXESS manager Flemming-Björn Björnslev. “Everyone wants to get into business – and they’re doing it too.” Björnslev has been running the specialty chemicals enterprise’s newly established sales subsidiary in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava since January 2008. Its branch offices in Warsaw and Budapest serve customers not only in those cities but also in other Polish and Hungarian cities and the Czech Republic. “We’re not starting from scratch here,” Björnslev explains. “More than a century ago, Bayer was already selling textile dyes and chemicals in these countries.” Until recently, LANXESS served customers in the region via external sales organizations. In the future, however, the company will have about 40 of its own employees offering LANXESS’ entire product range in the four countries. “We’re also looking to gain new customers,” says Björnslev, “and because we’re monitoring the situation here, we’re able to respond more rapidly than the competition.”

Economic growth in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary is expected to significantly outpace the EU average over the next few years. The largest growth will be recorded by European and American companies from the automotive, electrical and electronics, and construction materials industries that have set up production plants there. These firms are benefiting not only from the local populations' rising purchasing power but also from these countries' lower wages and government investment incentives. All of LANXESS’ 13 business units have already entered into partnerships that will be managed out of Bratislava in the future. The city has a long tradition of commerce, as it’s the site where the Amber Road and the Danube River – two of the most important Central European trade routes – once met. Today Bratislava is once again a key transport hub between Austria and Hungary, and the city is a symbol of a reunited Europe, which is why it serves as the headquarters of LANXESS’ Eastern European subsidiary.