Lanxess inaugurates rubber production line in Dormagen

German specialty chemicals company Lanxess inaugurates a new production line, built with an investment of Euro 18 million, for its Baypren polychloroprene solid rubber in Dormagen. The production line uses the innovative dry finishing production technology developed, tested and taken to the market-ready stage by Lanxess specifically for this purpose. This technology enables Baypren to be manufactured in a more resource-friendly way. Lanxess is also adding two new variants of this high-performance synthetic rubber to its product portfolio at the Dormagen site.
 
“This investment is further proof of our leading know-how in the field of high-performance synthetic rubber. By expanding our Baypren plant, we are providing the market with new impetus and demonstrating our strength to our customers. The new production line also once again highlights our staff’s impressive innovative skills and inventive spirit,” said Werner Breuers, member of the Lanxess AG Board of Management.
 
The innovative dry finishing technology now being used at the Baypren facility in Dormagen reduces the number of production steps and conserves resources when manufacturing the synthetic rubber, among other things by dehydrating the rubber in a special extrusion device. This means far less water is required, which also reduces the amount of wastewater generated. The natural gas previously needed to dry the rubber is no longer necessary either, so less waste air is produced.
 
As a result of the production expansion, Lanxess is also offering its customers two new Baypren grades under the names ‘Baypren High Performance’ and ‘Baypren Green Finishing’. Both variants are manufactured on the dry finishing production line. “Our new ‘Baypren Green Finishing’ grades feature enhanced crosslinking, while ‘Baypren High Performance’ benefits from further optimised flow behavior. These properties help increase the speed of the injection moulding process for technical mouldings and reduce energy consumption. This results in significant economic benefits for our customers,” explained Jan Paul de Vries, Head of Lanxess’ High Performance Elastomers business unit.
 
The existing production lines will remain in operation to meet the continuing customer demand for ‘traditional’ Baypren grades. By expanding the plant, Lanxess is increasing its annual production capacity in Dormagen by some 10 percent to a total of 63,000 metric tonnes of solid rubber.