LANXESS’s Rhein Chemie Business Unit Combines Rubber and Colorant Specialties

Following the acquisition of U.S. firm Chemtura in April this year, specialty chemicals company LANXESS has revised its organizational 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 specialized business, which sometimes involves small volumes,” says Philipp Junge, who has been head of the Rhein Chemie business unit since April 2017. Junge is also in charge of Rubber Additives Business, having been responsible for this business line since the end of 2014.

The new head of Colorant Additives Business is Dominik Risse, who is returning to the operational side of the business from the Mergers & Acquisitions group function 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 over 125 years, will remain the umbrella brand for rubber and colorants business. 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 organizational structure.

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

RAB supplies the rubber industry with a broad range of pre-dispersed chemicals, processing promoters, vulcanization and filler activators, anti-sun check waxes, release agents, tire marking inks and high-performance bladders. It provides a wide selection of products from a single source for all applications in the rubber processing industry and also supports important developments in this sector through innovation.

CAB is a leading supplier of high-quality colorants for use in numerous demanding applications and manufactures organic colorants at a state-of-the-art production facility in Leverkusen. It serves customers around the world with the help of a global logistics and warehousing network. Outstanding product quality, long-standing technical expertise, high innovation capability and the fulfillment of wide-ranging regulatory requirements are the critical qualification standards of this business line.