June 12, 2014, Ningbo/Shanghai – German specialty chemical maker LANXESS held a joint HSE workshop in Ningbo today along with China Petroleum and the Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF), sharing insights on environment protection, health and safety (HSE), as well as LANXESS’ approach to sustainability as a responsible corporate citizen in the chemical industry.

The workshop gathered senior officials from the Ningbo government, Ningbo Chemical Park and the CPCIF, along with suppliers and media. The half-day event featured viewpoints from Li Shousheng, Executive Vice Chairman of CPCIF, on challenges and solutions to the sustainable development of the chemical industry. LANXESS experts introduced the company’s HSE practices in production processes, transportation, supply chain management, and product stewardship, among others.  

 “Health, safety, environmental protection, together with process efficiency and product quality are all key components for our successful and sustainable business at LANXESS,” said Chien Ming Cheng, CEO of LANXESS Greater China at the workshop. “At the same time, our corporate responsibility goes towards suppliers, customers and other business partners along the whole value chain from raw materials, production to transportation and product applications.”

LANXESS aims to reduce CO₂ emissions by 10% and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions by 30% from 2010 to 2015. In addition, the company is driving efforts in research and development of bio-based raw materials and footprint analysis for relevant products. On the safety front, LANXESS initiated the Xact global program in 2011 to improve occupational, process and plant safety.

 “The increasing public awareness towards safety and environment protection puts higher pressure on the HSE and sustainability performance of chemical companies,” said Li Shousheng. “The workshop provides a good platform for the government and corporations to exchange experiences and ideas on sustainable development. We appreciate that multi-national companies can share their advanced approaches and practical experiences to improve the technology and safety management of the industry as a whole, thus contributing to the sustainability of China’s chemical industry.”

Li Shousheng and officials from the Ningbo Chemical Park also visited the LANXESS Ningbo iron oxide red pigments plant. The high-tech facility under construction is one of the eminent examples demonstrating LANXESS’ commitment and capability in production in a sustainable way.

The plant, which has an annual capacity of 25,000 metric tons, will use the Penniman process optimized by the company to ensure high environmental compatibility by optimizing water treatment and waste gas cleaning. The plant, characterized by its particularly high energy efficiency, is designed to meet and exceed the latest environmental standards.

 “With this plant we will be the first iron oxide pigments manufacturer that is able to produce these bright yellowish-shade red pigments in an environmental-friendly and consistent way,” said Rafael Suchan, Vice President for the Inorganic Pigments business unit in the Asia Pacific.

The construction of the high-tech facility is in full swing. All underground construction has been completed. It is expected to achieve mechanical completion in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the production startup is scheduled for the first quarter of 2016.

LANXESS’ New Red iron oxide red pigments plant is located in the Ningbo Petrochemical Economic & Technological Development Zone (NPETD) which is one of the very few national level chemical parks in China approved by China’s State Council. It has completed integration of upstream and downstream and good infrastructure facilities. The Ningbo Chemical Park has been recently selected by CPCIF as one of the top 3 chemical parks in China in 2014 based on comprehensive assessment indices for chemical production.