Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I would also like to wish you a very warm welcome to our press conference in Bitterfeld. We are pleased to see you all here today and are delighted that you are interested in our company developments. 

Look at this glass of water. We tend to take such things for granted, but it’s quite a different matter in many parts of the world. Unfortunately, clean water is still a luxury for many people. In fact, more than a billion people across the globe still do not have access to clean drinking water in 2010. It is clear that further solutions and help are urgently needed to remedy this situation. 

At LANXESS, we are taking an important step in this direction today by celebrating the start of construction of a new, pioneering plant. In future, this facility will be used to develop and produce membrane technology – a further cutting-edge innovation for water treatment. The total investment for the project amounts to approximately EUR 30 million. And, most importantly, it will create 200 new jobs in the long term! 

This is good news for LANXESS, Bitterfeld, and for Germany’s position as a business location. 

In choosing Bitterfeld as the location for this new plant, LANXESS is building on the success it has enjoyed here over the years! 

IAB Ionenaustauscher GmbH (IAB), a wholly owned subsidiary of LANXESS, has been producing ion exchange resins at this site for many years. Ion exchange resins comprise small polymer beads that have proven to be real all-rounders. They are used in some 500 different applications today! 

The biggest and most important area of application for these products is water treatment and purification. 

This means ion exchange resins are used wherever there is demand for clean drinking water. However, they are also essential for industrial water usage, because power plants, the food industry and semiconductor and pharmaceutical production facilities, for example, don’t just need large quantities of water – they also require very clean, sometimes even ultrapure water. 

Ion exchange resins can bind the smallest positively or negatively charged electrical particles or replace them with other ions. In this way, these high-tech products remove pollutants such as arsenic or nickel from the water, desalinate it, remove suspended particles and other impurities and are even used to treat water contaminated with radioactivity! These beads are also in action in your home – in water filters or dishwashers, for example. 

The range of applications for these resins is impressive! And many of them are made here in Bitterfeld, at the world’s largest and most state-of-the-art facility for the production of monodisperse ion exchange resins. 

“Monodisperse” means this technology can be used to manufacture the individual polymer beads all in exactly the same size. This makes them particularly powerful and even more suitable for the most demanding types of material separation, for instance in the pharmaceutical industry or for producing semiconductors and microchips. 

However, water can also contain other impurities that cannot be filtered out using these ion exchange resins. In such cases, the use of membrane technology is recommended. In recent years, this technology has proven its worth in an increasing number of applications.

The membrane’s chemical composition and design make it possible to filter out substances such as nitrates, pesticides, herbicides, viruses, bacteria and the smallest particles that cannot be picked up by ion exchange resins. As the water passes through the filter, suspended particles and other unwanted substances are extracted. 

In other words, membranes form a selective barrier allowing certain substances to pass while holding others back. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the following film gives you an insight into what the new production facilities will look like… 

[3D animation of the new site]. 

Ladies and gentlemen, LANXESS has more than seven decades of experience in water treatment. Our ion exchange resins, adsorbers and functional polymers are already helping to alleviate the world’s water problems.  

This new investment in Bitterfeld will enable us to offer an additional, cutting-edge technology for water treatment. The new plant is scheduled to be taken into operation towards the end of the year, with the first products to be launched on the market a year later. This will help us extend our product portfolio for water treatment and open up a new, profitable line of business.  

This, in turn, will enable us to strengthen our leading position in this fast-growing market segment.

However, these developments also benefit the Bitterfeld site, as they reinforce its transition into one of the most state-of-the-art chemical sites in the world. 

The transformation in the last two decades has been tremendous. And so have the results. The chemical facilities here are smaller, more sophisticated and, above all, cleaner – and they even help combat pollution. 

This plant confirms our commitment to the Bitterfeld site and its future viability. What’s more, the project goes hand in hand with an extensive research and development program that will also involve partnerships with local universities and colleges. 

We are delighted that the Ministry for Economic Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt has agreed to sponsor this venture, particularly as we are confident of the success and benefits that this investment will bring!  

As is standard practice for international companies today, Bitterfeld was chosen as the location for our new plant based on a demanding competition between a number of potential sites. Bitterfeld proved to have the edge over other international rivals, including sites in Singapore and Spain. 

This shows that the region itself and Germany as a whole can hold their own in the face of tough, global competition! 

Germany boasts a high standard of education, highly skilled workers, a first-rate infrastructure, a central position in one of the most important markets in the world and a high standard of research and development. And, ultimately, this was what swung the decision in favor of Bitterfeld. 

LANXESS has always attached great importance to this site. The fact that its position has now been further strengthened sends out an important signal – to the country, the region, the city and, above all, to the people who live and work here. I am confident that every cent and every euro spent on this project is a secure investment! 

This also applies to the other investments that LANXESS is making this year. In 2010, we are planning to invest some EUR 150 million in our German sites alone. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 
The importance of water treatment and the “water business” is growing all the time. This area offers tremendous potential for the future. 

The volume of the global membrane market alone is currently estimated at around EUR 1 billion, and this figure is set to rise further still.

The total market volume for water treatment is estimated at between EUR 315 and 330 billion. The private Swiss bank Sarasin forecasts annual growth of 10 percent in this field. 

We want to share in this growth. That’s why we have launched the biggest investment program for the water business in the company’s history and are stepping up our activities in this area – in Bitterfeld and worldwide. 

We are currently building another plant for ion exchange resins in Jhagadia, India, which is scheduled to go into operation later this year. This new plant will be the most state-of-the-art facility of its kind in Asia. It will be used, among other things, to manufacture products for the production of ultrapure water for the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries, for industrial water treatment, for food production and for power generation. 

Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, the water business is playing a new, increasingly central role in the activities of LANXESS this year.

That’s why today is a special day – for LANXESS, for our site in Bitterfeld, for Saxony-Anhalt and, last but by no means least, for the environment! Thank you for your attention.