Germany’s Lanxess has agreed to form a 50:50 marketing and joint venture with China’s Chongqing Changshou Chemical to exclusively handle Chinese distribution of chloroprene rubber and adhesive grades manufactured by the two companies. The transaction subject to approval by the relevant authorities is expected to be completed in first half of 2016. The new distribution firm will combine Lanxess’ chloroprene portfolio with Chongqing Changshou’s sales channels and product range, said Jan-Paul de Vries, head of the German company’s high performance elastomers business unit.

Lanxess produces polychloroprene, marketed under its Baypren brand, at Dormagen, Germany. The rubber grade is used in cable sheathing, railway transport and vibration-isolation applications to provide resistance to weathering, oil and heat and impermeability to gases.

In China, the world’s largest chloroprene rubber market, demand for polychloroprene is expected to grow in tandem with the advancement of urbanization and the growth of China’s automotive industry and railway transportation network, said Ming Cheng Chien, CEO of Lanxess Greater China.