LANXESS: Combining business segments bears fruit

Strong synergy effects at Rhein Chemie Additives

15-Feb-2016 - Germany

Specialty chemicals company LANXESS combined all its additive-related business segments in the new Rhein Chemie additives business unit (ADD) in early 2015, and the move is bearing fruit. One synergy effect is the more efficient utilization of phosphorus plants operated by the company at various sites worldwide. Following a comprehensive efficiency analysis, the phosphoric acid partial ester Additin RC 3760, previously shipped only from Mannheim, will now also be produced at the LANXESS site in Epierre, France, effectively doubling manufacturing capacity for this product.

“We use an identical manufacturing process in France,” explains Martin Säwe, head of the Lubricant Additives business line in LANXESS' ADD business unit. “The product fulfills the same specifications and quality requirements as the Additin RC 3760 shipped from Mannheim. However there is one difference: while we have to buy-in phosphorus pentoxide in Mannheim, we are backwards integrated in France even as far as processing elementary phosphorus, meaning we have a more secure position.” And that benefits customers: the added production site significantly increases supply security and, ideally, delivery times can now be considerably shorter.

The expanded capacities give LANXESS new opportunities: the company can utilize its phosphorus chemistry plants at both sites more efficiently, and adapt Additin RC 3760 for use in even more additive packages.

“In addition, we now have new options for manufacturing phosphoric acid partial esters, which have not been produced on an industrial scale at LANXESS to date,” explains Säwe. “It makes us much more flexible in developing new products based on phosphoric acid esters. Additin RC 3760 from France is just the first step. We already have plans for additional products.”

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/156832/lanxess-combining-business-segments-bears-fruit.html