Rhein Chemie Opens a New Production Plant for Polymer-bound Chemicals in Qingdao - Rhenogran® Service Concept Well Received in Asia
March 28, 2006
MANNHEIM/QINGDAO -- On March 22, 2006, a new production plant for polymer-bound chemicals (Rhenogran®) at Rhein Chemie (Qingdao) Ltd. in Qingdao, China was officially opened with a special ceremony. Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH invested 2.8 million euros in the construction of the new production plant to enable it to double its annual production capacity for polymer dispersions to 4,800 metric tons.
"This measure has been made necessary by increasing demand. For some time, we have been observing a tendency among our customers in China and other Asian countries to impose ever greater demands on product quality. This is true for both additives and end-user products. In addition, cost-effectiveness and environmental protection are becoming increasingly important aspects of production. This is precisely what our Rhenogran® Service Concept is aiming for," states Dr. Anno Borkowsky, CEO and President of the parent company Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH, Mannheim, Germany.
Rhein Chemie has achieved considerable success around the world with its Rhenogran® concept. The service concept is a core value of the company. Users can rely on consistent quality. The active ingredients - mostly in eighty percent concentrations - are inserted into a universally compatible binding system. This means that Rhenogran® can be handled in a dust-free manner, can be easily proportioned into the mixture and can be used in almost all rubbers. The dust-free binding of active ingredients therefore makes a significant contribution to health and environmental protection, as it protects processors and the environment from hazardous rubber chemicals. Variations in dispersion, as they often appear when using powders and which cause problems for the user, can be avoided by using Rhenogran®.
Another factor in the high Rhenogran® quality is a proprietary mesh screening process to eliminate oversized particles from the compound. This process is now standard at all Rhein Chemie production facilities worldwide. Rhenogran® mixtures are fine-filtered again before granulation, and this complex process filters out even the smallest residues from the mixture.
With construction, installation and successful commissioning of the plant only taking one year to complete, production began on schedule. "Our plant in Qingdao is equipped with state-of-the-art production technology. It goes without saying that our high, international standards with regard to plant safety were complied with during the construction process. We were able to transfer expertise from headquarters in Mannheim to our Chinese joint venture as a result of the close collaboration between the teams at the two sites," says Arnd Kuehnberger, worldwide Project Manager.
Rhein Chemie (Qingdao) Ltd. was founded as a joint venture in 1995. Rhein Chemie has a share of 90 percent in the venture. The Qingdao Red Star Chemical Group Co., Ltd, Qingdao, China, has a share of 10 percent. In Qingdao, Rhein Chemie produces polymer-bound chemicals (Rhenogran®), vulcanization and filler activators, processing promoters and release agents for the rubber industry. The company employs around 150 people at its site in Qingdao.
Rhein Chemie is a chemicals company which has had a successful track record in customized additives and service products stretching back over 100 years. The approximately 970-strong workforce produces and sells products for various sectors of the rubber, lubricant, plastics, and polyurethane industries worldwide. Around 550 staff are employed at headquarters in Mannheim-Rheinau, Germany. The company has subsidiaries and production facilities in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Rhein Chemie is a wholly owned subsidiary of LANXESS Deutschland GmbH, Leverkusen, Germany.
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by the management of Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of our sole stockholder LANXESS Deutschland GmbH and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in LANXESS AG's reports to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. LANXESS AG and Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH assume no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
