Plastic-metal hybrid front ends can be found today in more than 80 car models and in millions of vehicles around the world. Durethan and Pocan compounds are also being used in a wide variety of automotive parts such as body parts, oil pans, coolant pipes, battery housings, steering rods, pedals and pedal brackets.

The investment in North Carolina not only strengthens Lanxess' global high-tech plastics network but also further improves the balance of the company's overall polyamide value chain through using more caprolactam for captive use. In July 2014, a high-tech polymerization plant in Antwerp, Belgium, started up.

The world-scale facility is designed for an annual capacity of around 90,000 metric tons and represents an investment volume of roughly US$ 100 million. In addition, Lanxess recently opened a 20,000 metric ton per year high-tech plastics plant in Porto Feliz, Brazil. Other compounding plants are in operation in Dormagen, Germany, Wuxi, China, and Jhagadia, India.

All plastics manufactured by Lanxess at Antwerp are processed within its global network of compounding facilities into Durethan- and Pocan-brand products. In addition, the new plant for the polymerization of high-tech plastics has been built in the direct vicinity of the caprolactam facility operated by the Group in Antwerp. Caprolactam is the key intermediate for plastics manufacturing.

The HPM business unit is part of the Performance Polymers segment, which generated EUR 4.5 billion in total sales in fiscal year 2013. HPM has roughly 1,500 employees worldwide and operates production facilities in Belgium (Antwerp), Germany (Krefeld- Uerdingen, Hamm-Uentrop, Brilon), China (Wuxi), India (Jhagadia), United States (Gastonia) and Brazil (Porto Feliz).
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