Chemicals & Materials

Specialty chemicals company LANXESS is celebrating a century of iron oxide pigment production at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site. Since 1926, more than 15 million tons of iron oxide pigments have been produced here. This quantity could be used to produce more than 200 billion liters of paint—enough to cover an area the size of Germany five times over. With an annual production capacity of around 300,000 tons, LANXESS is the current global market leader. The Bayferrox brand is synonymous with synthetic iron oxide pigments in the industry.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has introduced a new adhesive bonding process that eliminates the need for wet-chemical treatments, aiming to reduce environmental impact and improve manufacturing efficiency.

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions marks a step change in the environmental impact of critical industrial polymers with the launch of two ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber grades demonstrating up to a 55 percent lower product carbon footprint (PCF).
The range of reduced carbon footprint materials features a 70 Shore A and an 80 Shore A material with uncompromised performance compared to traditional EPDMs.

Wacker Chemie AG introduced new silicone-based additives and materials for composite applications at the JEC World 2026 trade show in Paris.

The company said the new products include two impact modifiers, GENIOPERL W37 and GENIOPERL W38, designed to improve the durability and mechanical performance of thermosetting resins used in composites.

ARLANXEO inaugurated its new Therban® hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (“HNBR”) plant in Changzhou, China. The new plant supports expanding ARLANXEO’s HNBR production footprint and its ability to deliver reliable, high-quality elastomer solutions to customers across China and the Asia-Pacific region, while helping meet the growing demand for advanced rubber materials in strategic sectors, such as new energy, new mobility, and other industrial applications.

Avient Corporation announced the launch of a new line of polymer flame retardant (FR) additives that can improve FR performance in end-use products to help meet increasingly strict product safety regulations in polyethylene (PE) applications. Formulated with non-halogenated flame retardants, these new Cesa™ MAX Flame Retardant additives are especially useful for applications where limiting excessive smoke and fumes are primary requirements.