Germany’s Lanxess is expanding its global production of synthetic iron oxide pigments in order to keep up with increasing demand, particularly in the paints and coatings industry.

In Krefeld-Uerdingen, current capacity of 280,000 t/y for red and black pigments will rise gradually by about 23,000 t/y by 2019. In addition, Lanxess will modernize its site in Porto Feliz, Brazil, adding another 2,000 t/y of yellow pigment capacity. The projects will take total global production from 375,000 t/y to 400,000 t/y.  Investment costs were not revealed.

“The purpose of these investments is to support the growth of our customers,” said Jörg Hellwig, head of the inorganic pigments business. Lanxess expects global demand to rise by an average of 3% per year beyond 2018, driven by strong growth in countries such as India and the ongoing recovery of the building industry in North America and parts of Europe. Demand growth in China is also expected to remain at a high level. “By 2025, we expect global annual growth in the demand for iron oxide to reach an average of 4%. We believe in particular that the demand for high-quality pigments with uniform global standards will increase,” Hellwig stated.

Although China is the world’s largest producer of synthetic iron oxides, accounting for more than 50% of supply, the number of plants in the country has been halved since 2008 as the industry enforces environmental regulations. Lanxess, which believes the consolidation process is likely to continue, noted that the decline in production has particularly affected the supply of red pigments.

The Cologne-based company started up a 25,000 t/y red pigment plant in Ningbo, China, in the first quarter of 2016. Hellwig said Lanxess has been conducting extensive test runs since 2016, and the trial phase has now largely been concluded.