2007-10-22

Asia Pacific Tire Seminar:

Innovative products for high-performance tires

LANXESS shares market trends and latest technology with experts

Hangzhou, China – As a leading global supplier in the field of synthetic rubber and rubber chemicals, German specialty chemicals group LANXESS is leading the Asia Pacific tire industry into the future.  At the LANXESS Asia Pacific Tire Seminar to be held October 23-24 2007 in Hangzhou, China, LANXESS discusses with experts from the tire industry across Asia Pacific the trends and developments in the industry as well as LANXESS’S business strategy and solutions to meet future needs.

“The global tire market has been growing steadily at around 3%, with the Asia Pacific region registering strongest growth. With Asian tire companies breaking into the top league, there is a clear shift in demand towards the Asia Pacific Region. Greater China for example is the fastest growing tire producer in the world. Around 85% of LANXESS butyl rubbers are used in tires. The strong growth in Asian markets is driving the demand for rubber products,” says Dr. Ron Commander, Head of the Butyl Rubber business unit.

Capacity expansion to meet demand growth in Asia

LANXESS is very well prepared for such continuous growth and has increased its existing butyl facility’s capacity by 10% in Antwerp, Belgium and by 42% in Sarnia, Canada. The company has started a second expansion stage to increase Sarnia butyl facility capacity by another 10%. In addition, LANXESS is currently going ahead with plans for a new production facility in Asia.

Along with the growth of tire industry, Asia Pacific accounts for more than 40% of the world’s rubber chemicals market. To support the growing demand for rubber chemicals from tire manufacturers in China, LANXESS has inaugurated a new rubber chemicals plant in Tongling, Anhui Province. This plant is operated as a production joint venture and produces the antioxidant 6PPD, which is commonly used all over the world to protect rubber compounds from material fatigue. It is also an effective anti-ozonant to counter the oxidative destruction of rubber.

The Future belongs to high Performance Rubbers

With increasing requirements for fuel economy, optimal safety and environmental compatibility, there is a marked trend towards high performance tires. The demand for products of this tire segment is growing at 9% per annum.

LANXESS is well prepared to help our customers meet the strict requirements for high performance tires. “The future belongs to high-performance rubbers and to suppliers who have the associated know-how,” says Dr. Joachim Grub, Head of the Polybutadiene business unit. ”Our expertise in providing premium rubber products and innovative solutions to our customers makes LANXESS a reliable long-term partner for tire manufacturers in Asia,” Dr. Grub added.

LANXESS as a leader in innovative rubber technology and expertise offers many differentiated high-performance tire rubbers, including neodymium polybutadiene (Nd-BR), solution styrene-butadiene rubbers (SSBR), and new modified SSBR.  A good example is PBR4003, a new SSBR rubber for tire tread.  This innovative product improves the tire performance in terms of rolling resistance and abrasion resistance, thus significantly increasing the mileage of tires.

LANXESS’ specialty rubber chemical Vulcuren receives increasing attention throughout the industry, as it helps to shorten curing time, thus creating higher efficiency in tire manufacturing. LANXESS also has a leading global position with peptizing agents known under the trade name Renacit®, which help the Asian Tire Industry to meet their requirements.

Innovation is the key to the future. To continuously deliver superior products and solutions, LANXESS has established close collaboration with the Beijing Research and Design Institute of Rubber Industry (BRDI) in China to tap on the expertise of the local academic institution to offer innovative solutions to existing and future customers of our high performance tire rubber designs.

LANXESS is a leader in specialty chemicals with 2006 sales of EUR 6.94
billion and more than 16,000 employees in 21 countries. The company is represented at 47 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacture and sale of specialty chemicals, plastics, rubber and intermediates.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG management. 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 the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.