At an official ceremony attended by around 400 guests, Lanxess inaugurated its new butyl rubber plant on Jurong Island in Singapore on schedule. The specialty chemicals company has invested approximately EUR 400 million in the plant, which will have a capacity of 100,000 metric tons.

The plant will create about 160 highly qualified new jobs that will mainly be filled locally. The facility is the most modern of its kind in Asia and will produce premium halobutyl rubber, as well as regular butyl rubber. Lanxess is the first butyl rubber manufacturer to have a wholly-owned global presence. The newly opened plant in Singapore joins existing butyl rubber plants in Sarnia, Canada, and Zwijndrecht, Belgium. This means that the specialty chemicals company now has state-of-the-art facilities on three continents.

The butyl rubber facility in Singapore went into operation in the first quarter of 2013 and is being ramped up gradually. Commercial production will start in the third quarter of this year. The facility is expected to achieve full capacity in 2015.

Source: rubberworld.com