Lanxess calls a halt to leather chemicals production in Argentina
21/06/2017
The company made the announcement on June 21 and said 170 employees will be affected by the closure. “It is our intention to enter into talks with employee representatives without delay in order to find responsible solutions for all affected employees,” said Luis López-Remón, head of the Lanxess leather business unit, on making the announcement.
He explained that Lanxess has decided to centralise its chrome business in South Africa, the main source of the chrome ore it uses to make the intermediate sodium dichromate and chrome specialty chemicals, predominantly chrome tanning sales for use in the tanning sector.
The production facility at Zárate, 100 kilometres north-west of Buenos Aires, is one of the sites at which Lanxess makes sodium dichromate and chrome tanning salts, but two plants in South Africa, at Newcastle and Merebank, both in KwaZulu-Natal, also make these products.
“This strategic measure enables us to further strengthen our competitiveness in the chrome chemicals business,” Luis López-Remón said. “Moreover, it allows us to focus even more on our business with organic leather chemicals and thus bolster our leading position as a provider of innovative, service-intensive specialties for leather production.”
Two plants that Lanxess’s rubber business unit runs in Argentina will be unaffected by this decision.
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