LANXESS announces changes to organisation post-Chemtura acquisition

Following the acquisition of Chemtura Corp. in April, Germany’s specialty chemicals company LANXESS has revised its organisational structure. The two business lines Rubber Additives Business (RAB) and Colorant Additives Business (CAB) now both belong to the Rhein Chemie business unit.

LANXESS’s goal with this restructuring is to adopt a more targeted approach with an even stronger customer focus. The unit will in the future cover specialty business with active ingredient compounds, specialty chemicals and processing aids for the rubber, plastics and colorants industries.

“The two business lines have similar requirements and the realignment caters to our specialised business, which sometimes involves small volumes,” says Philipp Junge, who has been the head of the Rhein Chemie business unit since April 2017. Junge is also in charge of the Rubber Additives Business, having been responsible for this business line since the end of 2014.

The new head of the Colorant Additives Business is Dominik Risse, who is returning to the operational side of the business from the Mergers & Acquisitions group to take charge of this business line. He was previously responsible for LANXESS’s colorants business in his role as head of Marketing.

The name Rhein Chemie, which has been a hallmark of success in the chemical industry for more than 125 years, will remain the umbrella brand for the rubber and colorants business. The lubricant and flame retardant additives business, meanwhile, has been transferred to LANXESS’s Additives business unit. Together, these two business units form the Specialty Additives segment in the company’s extended organisational structure.

The Rhein Chemie business unit currently has around 1,000 employees and supplies more than 2,000 products to more than 3,000 customers in 120 countries across the globe. It is split into two business lines: the Rubber Additives Business and the Colorant Additives Business.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.7 billion (USD8.8 billion) in 2016 and about 19,200 employees in 25 countries. The company is currently represented at 75 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. Through ARLANXEO, the joint venture with Saudi Aramco, LANXESS is also a leading supplier of synthetic rubber.