Estimates for this raw material put global market growth in the single digits per year over the next ten years

February, 03, 2012- LANXESS, a leading multinational in specialty chemicals, ended 2011 with record synthetic EPDM rubber production of 41,200 tons at its Triunfo unit, in Rio Grande do Sul.

Used by the automotive, construction, plastic modification, cable and wire industries, demand for EPDM rubber has been booming, mainly on the Brazilian and Chinese markets. "We believe that in 2012 the demand for EPDM will continue to thrive, mainly because of the automotive market. Today, every car manufactured in Brazil has pieces made with LANXESS’ EPDM rubber. As a result, we expect to set a new production record this year," says director of Marketing and Sales for Latin America of Technical Rubber Products Business Unit, Marcos Oliveira.

In Brazil, LANXESS EPDM rubber is produced at the unit acquired last May from Holland’s DSM Elastomers. This acquisition added effort and experience that allowed certain bottlenecks to be sorted out. In addition, LANXESS made investments, such as the acquisition of a robot that puts rubber bales in their own boxes. This investment made the process faster and more precise, reducing bale packaging time.

Besides meeting the demand on the domestic market, the rubber produced by LANXESS in Triunfo is also exported to other countries in South America. "About 60% of our production goes to the Latin America market, and the other 40% is exported to other continents," says LANXESS site manager in Triunfo, Ubiratan Sá. On the Brazilian market, 65% of production goes to São Paulo, and the remainder goes to the rest of the country, mainly Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and the states in the south of Brazil.

In addition to Brazil, LANXESS produces EPDM rubber at its sites in Marl, in Germany, Orange, in the United States, and Sittard-Geleen, in Holland.

About LANXESS:

LANXESS is a leader in specialty chemicals, with sales of € 7.1 billion in 2010. It currently employs about 16,100 people in 30 countries. The company has 47 production units around the world. LANXESS’ core business is the development, production and sale of specialty chemicals, plastics, rubber and intermediary products.

In Brazil, LANXESS is represented by its 13 business units, employing more than 1,000 people, with five production units, laboratories, and offices in the cities of São Paulo and Porto Feliz (in São Paulo state), São Leopoldo and Triunfo (Rio Grande do Sul state), Duque de Caxias (Rio de Janeiro state) Santo Agostinho and Recife (Pernambuco state).

Source: LANXESS