2010-12-08
A Green Day at the butyl rubber plant in Zwijndrecht
A perfect fit: Under the lights of Christmas trees, LANXESS Belgium took the opportunity to give its stakeholders an overview of the environmental projects that LANXESS realized here.
Under the topic Green Day, LANXESS invited its local stakeholders to an environmental event on the site of the butyl rubber plant in Zwijndrecht, Belgium. Among the guests were the mayor and several members of the city council of Zwijndrecht, representatives of the neighboring nature reserve, harbor authorities, environmental inspectorate, energy partner, and members of the press. The best symbol for a Green Day this time of the year was the Xmas trees on-site, where all the guests enjoyed the lightning of the Christmas lights.
Country Representative Luc Varigas painted the picture of LANXESS’ activities in the Antwerp harbor, the second largest production site in the LANXESS Group. He emphasized the importance of innovation culture and the significance of climate protection for a chemical company. He concluded with a couple of energy saving products made with LANXESS components.
Eddy Walraven, general manager in Zwijndrecht, highlighted the most recent environmental projects at the butyl plant. The most important one, an investment of €60 million, was the construction of a new cogeneration power plant that delivers steam and electricity to the plant. Compared with the energy production of the past, the new cogeneration plant, which runs on natural gas, cuts CO2 emissions by 80,000 metric tons per year. On the eve of the important expansion works, Eddy Walraven stated that although the capacity will grow by 10 percent, the impact on the environment will be stabilized.
The mayor of Zwijndrecht praised the importance of LANXESS, not only for the employment in the region but also for its sustainable strategy and ongoing environmental investments.
LANXESS Rubber announced as well that it will green its site, literally, with the planting of trees, hedges, shrubs, and grass as soon as spring returns.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
