Pankaj Khare, Head of Sales & Marketing - India & ASEAN, Lanxess India Pvt Ltd showcases various aspects of high-tech plastics for automotive domain, in an interaction with Industrial Products Finder.

LANXESS is a multi-product MNC. What are the main product groups?

LANXESS India Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of LANXESS Deutschland GmbH, has more than 100 years of history of operations in India. We are a global player with strong roots reaching as far back as 1863, the year Bayer was founded. Combining a long tradition with the dynamism of a young organisation, LANXESS grew from a strategic realignment of the Bayer Group’s chemical and plastics businesses at the beginning of 2005.

LANXESS caters to four basic segments -

• a. Advanced Intermediates
• b. Performance Chemicals
• c. High Performance Materials
• d. ARLANXEO - Synthetic Rubber that comprises the High Performance Elastomers, the Tire and Speciality Rubbers (TSR).

What is the USP of LANXESS HPMs or engineering plastics?

The High Performance Materials (HPM) business unit of LANXESS is one of the leading suppliers of high-tech plastics for the automotive and electronic industries, operating through 7 production facilities in Europe, USA, India, China and Brazil. In India, we have our manufacturing facility in Jhagadia, Gujarat. The plant was set up in 2012 and is one of the biggest engineering polymer compounding plant in India. With a wide range of high performance materials under brands namely Durethan and Pocan, we at LANXESS, develop solutions that are making vehicles lighter and safer. LANXESS’ hybrid technology combines plastics with metals, which has already been implemented in several vehicle models worldwide. This technology thus constitutes intelligent lightweight construction with outstanding material properties, which reduces both consumption of fuel and CO2 emissions.

More than 40 million hybrid components in 70 vehicle classes can now be found on roads around the world. In many countries, metal car parts like air intake manifolds, oil module, door handles, oil pans, coolant water pipes, fuel tank, thermostat housing, fuel rail, roof frames, accelerator & brake pedal blocks etc. have been successfully replaced with Durethan® and Pocan® from LANXESS.

Known for its backward integration, the HPM business unit prides in offering high-end solutions to its stakeholders. Thanks to our efficient production facilities and intensive product and application development processes, we are one of the prominent suppliers in our field. The HPM compounding plant in Jhagadia, Gujarat has a total capacity of 20000MT and produces Durethan®, engineering plastics based on polyamide 6 and 66 and Pocan®, engineering plastics based on polybutylene terephthalate.

The customer is also provided with computer-aided simulation, testing and validation of auto parts, from our technology center in Hongkong and is also supported in process optimization.

Light weighting is a critical area today, but does it compromise safety, especially in automotive industry?

The Indian OEMs are opting for better technical support in their endeavor to reduce weight, offer better quality, achieve better fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. With this increase in demand for quality products, we see a good potentialfor quality engineering plastics & related services in the Indian market. At the same time, Safety assumes the most significant priority in the automotive industry and cannot be compromised. LANXESS offers not only world class engineering polymer solutions but also supports in the area of expertise and knowledge to enable auto OEMs to convert metal parts to plastics without diluting the specifications.

What are the other areas of applications? How does the company help develop applications?

The focus continues to be on light-weighting solutions. Some of the successfully implemented applications are:

Engine Oil pans– In this particular application, polyamide offers an alternative to aluminium, sheet steel and sheet molding compounds (SMC). One variant of the oil pan is made of the heat stabilized polyamide 66 Durethan® AKV 35 H2.0 filled with 35 percent glass fibers, while another is manufactured using the corresponding easy-flow polyamide 6 grade Durethan® BKV 35 EF H2.0. This has been used in trucks manufactured by Daimler.

The oil pan module for the new six-cylinder boxer engines of the Porsche 911 Carrera is being manufactured using Durethan® (made from polyamide 6) from LANXESS. The oilpan module has been developedin close collaboration betweenPOLYTEC and Porsche.

Polyamide 6 has helped to reduce the weight of the upper and lower sections of the oil pan. Overall, the oil pan is more than two kg lighter than its aluminium predecessor, due to thelower density of the plastic and the optimized wall thicknesses.

Front End Module – Passenger car front end carriers can now be designed exclusively of plastic, as illustrated by the new SkodaOctavia. The vehicle’s front end carrier is made of Durethan BKV 60 H2.0 EF, a highly reinforced polyamide (PA) 6 from LANXESS (Leverkusen, Germany) with 60% glass-fiber filling. This structural component is notable in that it contains absolutely no sheet-metal reinforcement. We have the extremely high stiffness and strength of our high-tech polyamide to thank for this achievement. It permits the intricate, thin-walled design of the carrier.

Spare Wheel Recess – The spare wheel recess with integrated reinforcing channels in the new Audi A8 is made of Durethan® DP BKV 60 H2.0 EF, a highly filled polyamide 6 from LANXESS with 60 % glass fibers. Our polyamide 6 is the material of choice because it enables precise injection molding of the part’s complex geometry. It would be very difficult to make the component from sheet metal due to the limited space available and the high draw ratios. Our plastic also enables direct integration of numerous functions.The spare wheel recess is made by voestalpine Plastics Solutions, a company based in the Dutch town of Putte.

Two wheeler industry in India is also very strong and considering this, we have developed some unique applications over the years.

Our first single layer blow molded PA6 fuel tank for two wheeler was developed last year in India for Bajaj KTM and the requirements were very unique because Bajaj KTM was to export these bikes to US where EPA (Environmental protection agency) norms on permeability were so stringent that normal fuel tanks in HDPE could not serve the purpose. This is where the polymer solutions provider like LANXESS comes into picture. Our grade Durethan® BC 550Z 900116 DUSXBL, not only fitted the specification well but also offered a higher impact strength, excellent mechanical properties, high processability& good mechanical strength. This grade has outstanding low permeability against gasoline which is 0.2 gm.m^2/day and also has good resistance to swelling (less than 1%) for non-ethanol blended fuels.

How important is India in the LANXESS scale of global operations?

India has huge opportunity wherein the young population with more disposable income, creates demand. The growing middle class & skilled manpower makes India more interesting. Government’s support to the automotive market is going to increase substantially. OEMs in India, especially the global ones, need expertise in the field of polymer knowledge with local presence; we are the ideal partners as we have the knowledge, experience and presence in India.

We work with the biggest names in the automotive industry and are optimistic about the developments in the Indian market. We do not only manufacture materials that add value to the automotive industry but also offer excellent technical support. The customer is provided with computer-aided simulation, testing and validation of auto parts, from our technology center in Hongkong and is also supported in process optimisation. The compliance with environmental norms is getting more stringent and the Indian automotive industry is also moving up the value chain in terms of improved fuel efficiency, reduced CO2 emissions and better quality of offerings without compromising on any features that was achievable with metals.

Any breakthrough product launch that made a difference?

India has a large two-wheeler market where a good number of OEMs are taking to substituting metal with plastics. Our first single-layer blow molded PA6 fuel tank for two-wheelers was developed last year in India for Bajaj KTM and the requirements were very unique because Bajaj KTM was to export these bikes to US where EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) norms on permeability were so stringent that normal fuel tanks in HDPE could not serve the purpose.

LANXESS’ Durethan BC 550Z 900116 DUSXBL not only suited the specification but also offered a higher impact strength, excellent mechanical properties, high processability and good mechanical strength. This grade has outstanding low permeability against gasoline which is 0.2 gm.m^2/day and also has good resistance to swelling (less than 1%) for non-ethanol blended fuels. During the development of fuel tanks, LANXESSprovided comprehensive support in trials and productionefficiency. It also provided suggestions inmodification of blow molding machine and its accessorieswhich helped in reducing the pinch-off wastage and reducing the cycle time.

How has the company performed in India during the last three years? What is the projection for the next three?

We started our Jhagadia production site in January 2012 and in last five years, LANXESS India has established itself as a reputed and respected solution provider in the field of performance polymers. In addition to Indian customers, we currently are exporting Durethan® & Pocan® to other APAC countries including Japan & Korea. In the span of 3 to 5 years, we intend to continue our growth in our India business.