The German specialty chemicals company held a groundbreaking ceremony at the start of the week beginning July 25 for a new leather chemicals plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, representing a €30 million investment. It will have a capacity of 50,000 metric tons per year and will come on stream in the first half of 2013. The plant will feature the latest technology and environmentally friendly processes and will create about 150 new jobs. The plant will produce leather chemicals such as Tanigan, Isoderm, Euderm and Levotan used for tanning, dyeing and finishing applications. China is the largest market for leather chemicals worldwide, with steady growth expected in the coming years.
In addition, Lanxess will start up the third production line of its high-tech plastics plant in Wuxi, Jiangsu province with a €10 million-investment.

Lanxess are also operating or constructing major production sites in Shanghai, Wuxi, Liyang, Nantong, Changzhou and Qingdao. In addition, the company has a headquarters in Shanghai for many of its business units, as well as offices in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. They have close to 900 employees and achieved sales of about €800 million in China in 2010.