(openPR) - Specialty chemicals group LANXESS AG has appointed Dr. Wolfgang Oehlert (45) as Vice President for the Inorganic Pigments business unit for Asia Pacific. He is concurrently the General Manager of LANXESS Shanghai Pigments Co. Ltd. The appointments became effective on 1 March 2009.

“With Oehlert, we have appointed a true expert in the field of iron oxide pigments with many years of experience and a thorough knowledge of the Asian market. I am convinced that he will be a strong driver for the future profitable growth of our iron oxide business in Asia,” comments Joerg Hellwig, global head of the LANXESS Inorganic Pigments business unit.

Oehlert replaces Dr. Rolf Haselhorst (41), who served as General Manager for LANXESS Shanghai Pigments since 2002. Haselhorst was instrumental in the successful acquisition of the inorganic pigments plant in Jinshan in June 2008 and formation of the LANXESS Specialty Chemicals Co., Ltd. legal entity. Haselhorst will return to the business unit’s headquarters in Krefeld, Germany, to take responsibility for strategic projects, reporting directly to Joerg Hellwig.

Dr. Wolfgang Oehlert started his career with Bayer in Krefeld in1992 as a Research Manager for iron oxide pigments, moving on with leading positions in Technical Functions and Production. In 1998, Oehlert transferred to Bayer Corporation in the USA to take over the responsibility for the production unit at the New Martinsville, West Virginia site. In 2001, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was responsible for the Technical Service, Product and Quality Management of the Colorants Businesses, as well as served as Plant Manager for the Blending Unit in Imperial, Pennsylvania. He returned to Krefeld in 2003, and undertook responsibility for the global Supply Chain Management of the Inorganic Pigments business unit. He was responsible for the all supply chain functions including production planning, inventory management, customer service and related functions. Oehlert is married and has two children.

The Inorganic Pigments business unit belongs to the Performance Chemicals segment, which achieved total sales in 2007 of EUR 1.97 billion. LANXESS earned sales of around EUR 6.61 billion in 2007. LANXESS currently employs around 15,000 staff in 21 countries and has operations at 44 sites worldwide. More information at www.lanxessgoesasia.com

LANXESS is a leader in specialty chemicals with sales in 2007 of EUR 6.61 billion and currently around 15,000 employees in 21 countries. The company is represented at 44 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacture and sale of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. More information at www.lanxessgoesasia.com

Maggie Tan
Corporate Communications
LANXESS Pte Ltd
9 Benoi Sector, Singapore 629844
Tel       (65) 6725 5888
Direct   (65) 6725 5821
Fax      (65) 6264 5329
Email   maggie.tan@lanxess.com
Web: www.lanxess.com/ , www.lanxessgoesasia.com/