LANXESS Establishes First-Ever World Rubber Day

Singapore, 23 March 2009 - 100 years of synthetic rubber – an artificial rubber material keeps the world moving

100 years ago, chemist Fritz Hofmann invented the first-ever synthetic rubber. To honor Hofmann’s revolutionary invention as synthetic rubber reaches its 100th anniversary, LANXESS has founded the first-ever World Rubber Day. For the coming months and for the anniversary on 12 September 2009, LANXESS is planning a whole range of activities at its rubber sites around the world to showcase the diverse range of applications with synthetic rubber to a broad public.

A new Web site has been set up at www.worldrubberday.com or www.weltkautschuktag.de. Visitors to the site can learn about everything ranging from the history of this unique product and its everyday and more obscure applications to pioneering innovations for cutting-edge and reliable high-performance tires.

Dr. Werner Breuers, member of the Board of Management at the German specialty chemicals group LANXESS, said, “Rubber, the all-rounder, is to finally step out from the wings and take center stage. The world of synthetic rubber, in all its multi-faceted glory, awaits discovery.”

The elastic all-rounder has revolutionized the world as a key component in all modern high-performance tires. Artificial rubber has also become irreplaceable in its role as a sealing and insulating material – whether as a pressure and temperature-resistant rubber seal in a washing machine, as the core of a golf ball or in challenging technical applications such as V-belts or conveyor belts.

“Synthetic rubber has made the world mobile. Without artificial rubber materials, none of the billion or so cars in the world today would be able to drive down the road, nor would any aircraft make it into the sky,” said Breuers.

More than 100 grades of synthetic rubber
LANXESS is successfully continuing the work of Hofmann, who was employed by “Elberfelder Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedrich Bayer & Co.” when he developed his invention. The LANXESS portfolio comprises far in excess of 100 different grades of synthetic rubber, which are used in a whole range of applications.

Chemists and technicians in LANXESS’s laboratories worldwide are committed to carrying Hofmann’s legacy into the future and to working closely with customers to develop new appli¬cations. To this day, LANXESS continues to register numerous patents in the rubber sector every year, which proves that this flexible all-rounder still has a great deal more to offer.

Global rubber research for new innovations
Every day, the company’s research centers in Germany, North and South America, and China work tirelessly to develop and evolve a whole range of high-tech rubbers and secure the future of this versatile material. What’s more, as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of synthetic rubber, LANXESS is continuously expanding its global rubber research network. Most recently, it established a new research center in the Chinese city of Qingdao and initiated a collaboration with Chinese research institutes in Beijing and Shanghai.

“High-tech rubber-based products will continue to play a key role in our daily lives in the future. The potential of the material is far from exhausted,” added Werner Breuers.

Breuers also believes that a transparent rubber could be just around the corner. Such a material would allow diffused light to permeate through it without casting shadows and could, for example, be used in architecture, or even as a means of lighting up the connecting sections of articulated buses. Specialists in dentistry are also experimenting with the use of rubber as an additive in fillings. The material is even used in preventive measures to protect against earthquakes, with structures such as bridges being built on rubber.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently around 14,800 employees in 21 countries. The company is represented at 44 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. More information at http://www.lanxessgoesasia.com

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Information for editors:
100 years of synthetic rubber – interesting information about the anniversary and the numerous areas of application can be found at http://www.worldrubberday.com.

You can find further information concerning LANXESS chemistry in our WebMagazine on http://webmagazine.lanxess.com.

All LANXESS news releases and accompanying photo, video and audio material can be found on http://press.lanxess.com.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently around 14,800 employees in 21 countries. The company is represented at 44 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. More information at http://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: http://www.lanxess.com/ , http://www.lanxessgoesasia.com/

This release was published on openPR.