Synthetic elastomers producer Arlanxeo (Maastricht / The Netherlands; www.arlanxeo.com) is intending to expand its chloroprene rubber (CR) capacity in Dormagen / Germany, starting in the second quarter of 2018. During construction, a production line will be renewed and equipped with new reactors. Total capacity for the materials at the site will increase from 63,000 t/y to around 70,000 t/y. The additional amount is expected to be available from the first quarter of 2019 on. The expansion investment is a high single-digit million amount.

CR materials are marketed by Arlanxeo's High Performance Elastomers unit under the "Baypren" (latex) and "Baypren ALX" (solid rubber) brands, and include cable sheathing, belts, conveyor belts, and wetsuits and adhesive applications. The company was founded in 2016 as a joint venture of Lanxess (Cologne / Germany; www.lanxess.com) and Saudi Aramco (Dhahran / Saudi Arabia; www.saudiaramco.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 15.02.2016.