The German speciality chemicals company recently inaugurated the first India Application Development Centre (IADC) in the country’s financial capital, reinforcing its commitment and outlook for the country. 

For Lanxess India, tyre industry accounts for almost 25 percent of its business, as against global average of around 10 percent. And the company’s management continues to be upbeat about the growth story for Indian tyre makers.

“India, from our point of view, will play a very important detrimental role (for Lanxess). Because when you want to grow your industry, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi clearly has as an ambition, you need the chemical industry and all their precursors. And if you want to help the Indian industry to further develop (new solutions), you need to have local application for local needs,” remarked Matthias Zachert, Chairman of the Board of Management of Lanxess.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of the India Application Development Centre (IADC) in Thane, Mumbai, which also marks a significant commitment by the German chemical major for the country.

Lanxess is said to be the world’s largest supplier of rubber additives focusing on solutions around rubber chemicals, speciality chemicals and processing aids for the rubber industry. The company’s solutions find their way in high-performance rubber products such as tyres, treads, seals and even drive belts.

At present, Lanxess has established two production facilities in India – Jhagadia in Gujarat and Nagda in Madhya Pradesh. The tyre industry is primarily supported by Lanxess Rhein Chemie Additives Divisions, which manufactures Rhenogran and Rhenodiv at the Jhagadia facility. The company has invested over EUR 70 million in the Jhagadia facility, which not only supports the domestic customer base for Lanxess but also its customers in the Asia-Pacific region. The company has a longstanding presence in India, with representation from all 10 of its business units and a workforce of around 800 employees.

It comes as no surprise that Zachert sees India as a critical growth region for Lanxess, offering immense opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

INDIAN TYRE INDUSTRY A KEY GROWTH DRIVER

Globally, the automotive industry in particular is transitioning from being seen as a seller of products to a mobility solutions provider, what’s with new business models or service solutions.

Zachert sees that while the tyre market was consolidated for many years, it has started opening up in the last decade.

“The global tyre market has opened up, strongly driven by Chinese tyre manufacturers but also Indian tyre manufacturers. We have rising stars here in India. Mobility has always led to liberty and flexibility for mankind. This will be a trend that in the next 10-20 years is not going to vanish. Mobility will be important, which means the tyre industry is important. And therefore, I look positively at the tyre industry going forward, notably the one that is located here in India,” said an optimistic Zachert.

It is important to understand that the company has almost 25 percent of its business exposure to the Indian tyre segment, which could be amongst the highest for the company.

“For our group, the mobility exposure that we have worldwide as a company is 10 percent. We are over-proportionally present here in India, which is good and normal because the industry is expanding. The Indian tyre market is expanding not only locally but globally,” he said.

The recent setting up of IADC is part of Lanxess’ strategic focus on India as a key market and innovation hub. The strengthening of R&D will enable the company to enhance its ability to deliver high-value, specialised solutions tailored to local needs.

To begin with, the company has integrated expertise from two key businesses in India: Lubricant Additives (high-performance additives and additive systems, synthetic base fluids and ready-to-use lubricants) and Material Protection Products (antimicrobial, disinfection and preservation solutions). Going forward, the idea is to be present with all business units’ expertise at the IADC.

Namitesh Roy Choudhury, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Lanxess India, said, “By establishing the IADC, we are bringing our expertise closer to our Indian customers. This centre will not only support innovation but also strengthen our ability to address evolving market trends with speed and precision.”

For Lanxess India, the IADC aligns with its transformation journey towards a speciality chemicals company. The aim is to focus less on cyclical business areas and solutions for critical applications and move towards a partner for sustainable mobility or consumer protection. And the company sees India’s growing industrial base and expanding consumer markets as an ideal platform for driving such advancements.

SUPPORTING THE TYRE INDUSTRY

The production of the plain looking black tyre is more than just moulding of rubber; it is a complex process, which includes incorporating various raw materials and scientific steps to ensure that the tyres are built up to a particular specification. After all, tyres remain and are supposed to be the sole point of contact between a vehicle and the road when in motion.

Lanxess, for its part, supplies solutions across mixing, batch-off, extrusion & tread marking, tyre inspection & repair, tyre curing, green tyre spraying and tyre building processes.

According to the company, a durable car tyre is the result of a complex manufacturing process in which the tyre is built-up from various rubber compounds and reinforcing materials. It explains that by using rubber chemicals and various fillers, the raw material rubber is turned into a high-performance product. This is because rubber is soft and not very durable until vulcanisation. By selecting the type of rubber, the crosslinking chemicals and additives required for the desired technical properties of the end-product, high-performance products such as tyres and other rubber products are created.

EUROPEAN COMPANIES TO STEP OUT OF PETROCHEMICALS

The chemicals industry has undergone a sea of change, especially given the evolving trend from geography-focused development to globalisation. For the last few years, there has been a growing pressure, especially given the focus on sustainability.

To support the sustainability drive, the company recently introduced Vulkanox HS Scopeblue, a next-generation rubber additive designed to help tyre manufacturers produce more durable and environmentally friendly tyres. The anti–degradant effectively protects tyres from the damaging effects of oxygen and heat while offering reduced environmental impact. Its low volatility and minimal migration tendency further enhance tyre performance and longevity, making it an optimal solution for modern, eco-conscious manufacturing.

The company claims that the Vulkanox HS Scopeblue boasts a carbon footprint more than 30 percent lower than its conventionally produced counterpart thanks to the use of bio-circular acetone and renewable energy in its production process. It is being currently manufactured at an ISCC PLUS-certified plant in Germany; this mass-balanced additive retains the same chemical structure as the original product, allowing tyre manufacturers to adopt it seamlessly without altering their existing production processes.

Zachert further said, “Times lead to change. The industry dynamics of chemicals has been adjusting to change for the last decade and will continue to see changes for the next decades. If I look into the next 10 years of the chemical industry, my personal prognosis is that you will see that the European chemical companies will more and more step out of petrochemicals and go upstream. And this is happening as we speak. My thesis also is that the European industry will focus more on niche polymers and speciality chemicals. The upstream and volume polymers will go elsewhere, where you have the raw materials and cheap energy. Countries that are destined to dominate these kinds of chemicals over the next 10 years, is the Middle East and the United States. Europe used to be the epicentre of chemicals 20-30 years ago from polymers to chemicals to pharmaceuticals.”

Then there is the shift from global supply chain to more of regional supply chain given the geopolitical situation.

“I see that with the current world with geopolitical tensions, the likelihood is high that we will go back to trade zones. And therefore, the global value chain in chemicals is one where many companies will have to rethink the global approach and turn towards a more regional approach,” added Zachert.

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Kuraray Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Kuraray Co., Ltd., has inaugurated the Kuraray Asia Pacific Centre in Singapore's Science Park. This new facility will function as a dedicated technical support hub for the Asian market. Its primary focus will be on providing specialised expertise for growing regional demand in PVOH resin, EVAL EVOH resin and activated carbon products.

Equipped with advanced material evaluation and analysis laboratories, the centre is designed to deliver prompt and tailored solutions to meet specific local customer requirements. It will also act as a platform for open innovation, fostering collaborative development and product demonstrations to generate new value.

By establishing itself within the concentrated research environment of the Singapore Science Park, the centre aims to accelerate market development and attract global talent through strategic partnerships. This initiative is a key part of the Kuraray Group's strategy to address emerging customer needs, explore new applications and strengthen its overall business expansion throughout the region.

Lim Wey-Len, Executive Vice President, Singapore Economic Development Board, said during the opening ceremony on 1 September: “We welcome Kuraray and other like-minded companies to leverage Singapore’s innovation ecosystem, talent pool, and regional connectivity to scale impactful and sustainable solutions from here.”

Tomoyuki Watanabe, Director and Managing Executive Officer, and President of the Vinyl Acetate Resin Company at Kuraray, said, “By offering a place for co-creation with our customers, we hope to drive the rapid market growth in the region.”

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The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) has released its Monthly NR Statistical Report for July 2025, providing an overview of key developments in the global natural rubber sector.

According to the report, natural rubber prices exhibited significant volatility in July. This instability was driven by a combination of adverse weather conditions impacting production, ongoing geopolitical tensions and international trade tariffs. After an initial phase of ample supply and muted demand, market sentiment shifted as concerns over potential supply disruptions prompted a notable increase in purchasing activity.

The report further projects a modest global production increase of 0.5 percent for 2025, while demand is anticipated to grow by a slightly higher 1.3 percent. However, this growth is expected against a challenging backdrop of a potential global economic slowdown. Complex US tariff policies and their widespread ripple effects are primary factors contributing to what may become one of the most subdued years for economic expansion since the pandemic.

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Continental is establishing a groundbreaking industrial process for recycling complex rubber waste through a strategic acquisition of key patents and the launch of a new pilot facility. This initiative, led by its ContiTech division, leverages advanced pyrolysis technology to transform end-of-life rubber products into valuable raw materials, creating a sustainable alternative to fossil resources.

The core of this innovation is a thermal decomposition process where waste rubber is heated in a low-oxygen environment. This breaks the material down into its core chemical constituents, one of which is a high-quality oil with properties mirroring traditional crude oil. This output is particularly significant as it can be directly used in the manufacture of new plastics and rubber goods, effectively closing the material loop.

A major historical obstacle for the industry has been the difficulty of recycling vulcanised rubber, whose altered chemical structure resists conventional separation methods. Pyrolysis successfully circumvents this challenge, cleanly decomposing the material to recover not only oil but also carbon black and other energy sources. The widespread adoption of pyrolysis has been hindered until now by the complexity of purifying its outputs to meet industrial standards. Continental’s new facility, originally developed by British start-up LowSulphurFuels, directly addresses this hurdle with a specialised purification process, making large-scale rubber recycling both technically feasible and economically attractive.

This advancement is especially critical for complex rubber products like composite hoses and specialised seals, which were previously nearly impossible to recycle efficiently. By converting this challenging waste stream into a high-grade resource, Continental is driving progress towards a circular economy. This move also reinforces the company's position as a leader in sustainable innovation, complementing its extensive patent portfolio and ongoing projects focused on material recovery and developing eco-friendly solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors.

Dr Michael Hofmann, Chief Technology Officer, ContiTech, said, “With this technology, we’re closing a crucial gap in the circular materials economy: we’re able to recover high-quality raw materials from rubber waste, which we can then feed back into the chemical material cycle to create new products without relying on crude oil. We’re thus demonstrating how innovation can become the driving force behind sustainable industrial processes – and how a previously untapped raw material cycle can be made economically viable.”

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Following a resolution by its Board of Directors on 29 August 2025, Zeon Corporation has formally revised the total investment for its upcoming cyclo olefin polymer (COP) production plant. The new total investment is now projected to be approximately JPY 78.0 billion (approximately USD 525.70 million), a significant increase from the initial estimate of approximately YEN 70.0 billion (approximately USD 471.77 million) announced in June 2024.

This upward revision is attributed to anticipated increases across key construction areas, including rising costs for labour, raw materials and equipment. The updated financial framework incorporates both confirmed and projected cost escalations to ensure accurate budgeting. Zeon Corporation intends to fund the entire investment through a combination of internally generated capital and loans from financial institutions.

The new facility remains on schedule for completion in the first half of fiscal year 2028. Due to this timeline, the substantial investment is not expected to materially affect the company's consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2026. The project is a central pillar of the company’s medium-term business strategy, identified as a major future growth driver.

The decision to proceed with the plant underscores the strong market outlook for Zeon’s cyclo olefin polymers. These advanced materials are prized for their superior optical clarity, extremely low water absorption and high purity. While already established in applications like optical films and lenses, demand is growing rapidly from the medical and semiconductor industries. By expanding its production capacity, Zeon aims to capitalise on this robust and expanding demand, thereby strengthening its market position and enhancing its corporate value over the medium to long term.

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