LANXESS expands production line for Durethan and Pocan

LANXESS has commissioned a new production line which has an annual capacity of up to 10,000 metric tons for the manufacture of specialty compounds at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site.

The company has invested approximately €7 million (approx.. £6m GBP) in expanding the production capacities of its engineering plastics.

Dr. Michael Zobel, Head of LANXESS’s High Performance Materials business unit, said: “With this investment, we are responding in particular to the development of new forms of mobility such as electromobility, but also to trends in the electrical and electronic industry such as the Industry 4.0, which are leading to a growing demand for complex thermoplastic compounds.”

LANXESS says the new line complements the compounding lines designed for production of Durethan polyamide compounds and PBT compounds of the Pocan brand at the Krefeld-Uerdingen site.

The new production line includes a high-performance twin-screw extruder with a modern raw material feeding, precise dosing and efficient cooling and classifying technology.

“The extruder provides all the equipment necessary for the economical production of high-quality compounds,” explains Dr. Stefanie Nickel, Head of Compounding in the High Performance Materials business unit.

“The line is very well suited, for example, for our glass fibre-reinforced polyamides, which are used in the structural lightweight design of automobiles.”

The line will also be used to produce compounds with high mineral content, used in thermally conductive housing parts, such as the miniaturisation of electronic assemblies.

Nickel added: “We also see great potential in flame-retardant compounds, for example for components in electric drives.”