Page 140 - CW E-Magazine (25-2-2025)

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GROWTH PLANS

LANXESS opens India Application Development Centre

to provide more effi cient services to customers

German speciality chemicals
company, LANXESS, opened a new
India Application Development Centre
(IADC) at Thane, which is the head
offi ce of its Indian subsidiary,
LANXESS India Pvt. Ltd.
The IADC, which was inaugurated
by Mr. Matthias Zachert, Chairman of
the Board of Management of LANXESS the necessary personnel and equipment LANXESS will also be building an
AG on February 18, 2024, was set up as the need arises. engineering team in India, in line with
12 months, and is expected to provide a trend seen with several other inter-
application development services for “The new application development national companies, leveraging the high-
customers in India, who earlier had to centre represents our commitment to deli- quality talent available here. “In a few
turn to the company’s headquarters in vering solutions tailored to the needs of years, we expect to have 50-60 people
Leverkusen, Germany, to get answers our local customers while driving organic supporting local and at least the
to technical problems. The new IADC innovation-led growth,” Mr. Zachert European sites for engineering services,
will complement the Asia Application stated in a press release issued on the and potentially worldwide sites,” he
Development Centre in Shanghai (China), occasion. “By establishing the IADC, stated at a press conference.
which caters to China and the rest of we are bringing our expertise closer to
Asia (excluding India). our Indian customers. This centre will Metamorphosis into a speciality
not only support innovation but also chemicals company
Renewed focus on India strengthen our ability to address evolv- The establishment of the IADC also
Coming on the 20th anniversary of ing market trends with speed and pre- aligns with LANXESS’s transforma-
the company since it was carved out cision,” Mr. Namitesh Roy Choudhary, tion into a speciality chemicals com-
of Bayer back in 2004, the investment Vice Chairman and Managing Director, pany by shedding most of its polymer
also marks a renewed focus that the LANXESS India, said. businesses, including for synthetic
German speciality chemicals company rubbers. The last of these – the Ure-
is putting in India. During his last visit LANXESS has a considerable foot- thanes Systems business – is earmarked
to India – almost exactly a year ago – print in India, with all of its 10 BUs for sale to Japan’s UBE Corporation,
Mr. Zachert had hinted at bigger things represented. It has two manufacturing which deal is expected to be completed
to come in India, which is seen as a sites in India: one on Jhagadia, Gujarat, in the fi rst half of 2025. This will leave
market with a signifi cant head space focusing on RheinChemie, Liquid Puri- LANXESS as a pure-play speciality
to grow. While the IADC will initially fi cation Technologies and MPP; and an- chemicals company, focusing on less
serve the needs of two Business Units other in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh, which cyclical business areas and solutions
(BUs) – Lubricant Additives, which specialises in Flavours & Fragrances. for critical applications such as sustain-
provides high-performance additives & LANXESS India reported sales of €312-mn able mobility and consumer protection.
additive systems, synthetic base fl uids in 2023 (the last year for which results are
and ready-to-use lubricants; and publicly available), compared to €316-mn Dwelling on the portfolio trans-
Material Protection Products (MPP), in the previous year. While the 2013 India formation, Mr. Zachert noted that it is
offering antimicrobial, disinfection and sales represented just 4.7% of global sales, more or less complete. “We will not
preservation solutions – Mr. Zachert Mr. Zachert was confi dent of doubling add new BUs to the nine that will be
was hopeful that over the next few sales by 2028 from current levels, for left. But within each BU we will enter
years other BUs will also leverage the which the individual BUs in India are to into new applications and end-markets
facility, which will be augmented with reveal plans during his visit. when there is the opportunity for it. We

140 Chemical Weekly February 25, 2025

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