Lanxess Invests in Flame Retardant Base

German specialty chemicals producer Lanxess said it plans to invest around €200 million to strengthen its global production base for flame retardants up to 2021.

The company runs a heavily backward-integrated production network for bromine and phosphorous-based flame retardants with three plants in the US, two in Germany and one each in France and the UK.

With the acquisition of Chemtura in 2017, which added brominated flame retardant additives, bromine and bromine derivative to its portfolio, Lanxess moved up into the major leagues of flame retardant additives producers and complemented its existing position in phosphorus-based additives.

Along with manufacturing flame retardants, the German company operates two technical development centers for the products in Naugatuck, Connecticut, USA, and Leverkusen, Germany.

From the two centers, Karsten Job, head of the company’s Polymer Additives business, said Lanxess “drives global innovations such as reactive and polymeric flame retardants,” which he said “offer a much better sustainability profile than standard flame retardants.”