Lanxess, TSRC Link For Nitrile Rubber

Germany’s Lanxess and Taiwanese synthetic rubber maker TSRC are forming a 50-50 joint venture to build a $50 million nitrile rubber plant in Nantong, China. The partners plan to open the 30,000-metric-ton-per-year plant in the first half of 2012. TSRC already operates styrene-butadiene rubber, polybutadiene rubber, and thermoplastic elastomer plants in Nantong, which is northwest of Shanghai. Double-digit annual growth in China for nitrile rubber—used to make hoses, seals, and gloves—is the reason behind the venture, says Werner Breuers, a Lanxess board member. Lanxess, which claims it is the world’s largest maker of synthetic rubber, will supply nitrile rubber to joint-venture customers from its site in La Wantzenau, France, until the Nantong unit starts up.