German specialty chemicals manufacturer Lanxess (Leverkusen; www.lanxess.com) has announced three major investments totaling about EUR 30m in Brazil. Designed to meet the local automotive industry’s growing demand, the projects reportedly will create more than 100 jobs.

At its site in Porto Feliz, São Paulo state, Lanxess will build two new plants. The first will be able to turn out an initial 20,000 t/y of “Durethan” and “Pocan” engineering plastics, used predominantly in the automotive sector. Operated by the group’s Semi-Crystalline Products division, the facility is due to come on stream in mid-2013. Also in Porto Feliz, Lanxess will build a new plant producing 2,000 t/y of “Rhenogran” rubber additives as well as 170,000 66 Rhenoshape 97 curing bladders each year. Production is due to kick off in Q4 2012.

The third investment involves Lanxess’ plant in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul, parts of which the German group plans to switch to produce EPDM rubber from bio-based ethylene – for more details, see also Plasteurope.com of 28.09.2011. Brazil is one of Lanxess’ most successful markets, accounting for 10% or EUR 701m of global group sales in 2010.