MAGAZINE FOR EMPLOYEES 01/2024 | English Edition Shutdown with Advance Notice In Kalama, Washington, USA, the turnaround is set for October – and preparations are in full swing. PAGE 18 Green Selling Points The Product Carbon Footprint Engine is helping us convince customers. PAGE 16 SHARPENING OUR FOCUS Thinking from the customer’s perspective, unlocking new markets – that’s what Business Excellence is all about. The LPT business unit is showing how it’s done, specializing and honing in on the battery and microchip market. PAGE 6

04 LANXESS Worldwide FOCUS PRODUCTS & QUALITY 16 Green Selling Points We’ve been using the Product Carbon Footprint Engine to calculate the carbon footprint of individual products for a year now. But what do our customers think of it? We asked them. 22 A Fresh Start at 50 The Rhein Chemie BU produces rubber chemicals in Kallo, Belgium. As part of FORWARD!, the team there will imple- ment 40 different measures in 2024 alone. 06 Sharpening Our Focus All areas of the Business Excellence initiative have one goal: to get closer to the customer and offer them products tailored to their needs. In this article: the measures needed to achieve this. 12 New Markets for Resins The LPT business unit's ion exchangers are finding new customers in special- ized, trending markets such as battery chemistry and the microchip industry. 14 Innovative Iron Oxides The IPG BU wants to use its iron oxides to make LFP batteries more efficient. The BU is now entering into a research partnership for this purpose. S S E X N A L : t f e l e h t n o o t o h P S S E X N A L : o t o h p r e v o C PEOPLE & TEAMWORK 15 Commentary Karsten Job explains how he became in- volved in the Business Excellence program and what he expects from it. 18 Shutdown with Advance Notice In Kalama, Washington, USA, the turnaround is set for October – and preparations are in full swing. 21 Puzzles and Competitions 24 Quality Works Mesamoll® ensures that car underbody pro- tection has a long service life. 01/2024 | Xpress 03

LTIFR IN 2023: 0.6 INCREDIBLE! LANXESS is one of the top companies when it comes to occupational safety, with a lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) of less than one. JUMPING AHEAD Worldwide. LANXESS is not only performing extremely well in terms of occupational safety, the group has also improved its plant safety worldwide. The overall rate of plant safety incidents fell by around a third from 3.2 to 2.5 in 2023. At the same time, the severity rate of plant safety incidents fell by half. This metric is measured according to a defined CEFIC standard. It fell from 7.2 in 2022 to 3.4 in 2023. Improving plant safety is primarily based on the pillars of safety assessments, work in- structions, and risk assessments as well as compliance checks. THREE QUESTIONS FOR MICHAEL ROCKEL, Country Representative Greater China and new Head of the Liquid Purification Technologies BU “China is acting rationally” Mr. Rockel, you hold two important positions. Does LANXESS want to expand its activities in China? Michael Rockel: China cur- rently accounts for around 46 percent of the global demand for chemicals – and just as much is produced there. In the chemical industry, you simply can’t ignore China. We are well positioned here and plan to develop further innovative solutions for the region in the future. But the nationalist over- tones from China are get- ting louder. Is this having an impact? The Chinese have lifted mil- lions of people out of poverty in recent decades. This is ac- companied by a sense of na- tional pride in what they have achieved – local products and brands are gaining strength. That’s why it is important for us to have a local presence and work closely with our part- ners. The rising standard of living is also fueling the market for premium solutions, which we are responding to with our AADC in Shanghai. Here we’re developing solutions in the region for the region. I have followed the changes firsthand over the past 14 years. The speed at which the region is prospering and the people’s open-mindedness impress me as much as they did on the first day. Where do you see growth potential for us? For the ion exchanger busi- ness: not only as catalysts in chemical processes, but also in the power plant industry and ultrapure water treatment for the semiconductor indus- try. The market is also extreme- ly important for the other busi- ness units. For example, our Virkon® disinfectant benefits from the fact that around half of the world’s pig population lives in China. Are there also any critical markets in China? At the moment, I’m worried about the real estate market. Even though the government is doing a lot to stabilize the situation, we are still in a con- solidation phase. The Chinese savings rate, which currently stands at 35% of income, is also not helping the domestic economy. But China is a coun- try that is managed rationally, with long-term plans and many extremely well-educated people. This focus on goals and the tremendous work ethic enable China to over- come crises quickly. 01/2024 | Xpress 05

SHARPENING OUR FOCUS T his is the year of new beginnings: we have hopefully made it through the worst and the LANXESS portfolio is clearly defined – it is focused on specialty chemicals. Now it’s up to our employees to make us the best we can be. “We are now entering the phase when the rubber hits the road,” says CEO Matthias Zachert, referring to Business Ex- cellence. Covering five key areas, the program cuts across the group and makes it fit for the increasingly fierce competition. Its importance is reflected in the newly established Excellence Com- mittee, in which each Board Member is responsible for one or two of the areas: Commercial (Zachert), Procurement and Operational (Hubert Fink), Supply Chain (Oliver Stratmann), and Innovation (Frederique van Baarle). For Zachert, the success of the program will be measured by how well we manage to refocus on our markets and customers. “We need to recognize our customers’ needs more quickly and find in- novative and pragmatic tailor-made solutions for them. That’s our mission. We need resources for this. That’s why we are also contin- uously optimizing all processes throughout the group at the same time,” says Zachert. Which applications, innovations, or services benefit the customer? That is now the key question. “We have ev- erything we need to be successful,” says Zachert. “High-quality, specialized products and a wealth of data that we can use to devel- op lucrative business opportunities if analyzed correctly.” Over the following pages, the different areas are presented in five individual profiles. At the same time, we asked around in the busi- ness units: what’s going on there? And in the process, we came across two exciting examples of specialization initiatives. OBJECTIVE Increasing our commercial capabili- ties – that’s the main goal. This will be achieved through a deeper understand- ing of the market and customers, which will help us identify opportunities to more strongly differentiate our business from the competitors. To this end, we are optimizing internal processes and gaining commercial advantages. This will be based on data-supported analy- ses. On this basis, automated, tool-driv- en diagnostics will lead to a new pricing structure and higher volumes. FOCAL POINTS All activities have been defined and two priorities have been set for 2024: • • Short-term optimizations: Data and tool-driven price and volume improvements as well as the optimization of commercial contracts. Structural expansion of commercial capabilities: Greater differentiation of our offer- ings from those of competitors for customers, automation, and data and AI-driven price and margin management, streamlining of customer-centric processes. “NOW IT’S TIME TO DRIVE THE BUSINESS FORWARD” Christian Sturm, head of the Commer- cial Excellence team, says: “We’ve de- veloped all our improvements on the basis of our own analysis. In the pro- cess, we also incorporated best practic- es from the industry. Together with the BUs and GFs, we then drew up the ac- tion plan. Thanks to close cooperation with the IT and data analytics teams, we are also using AI. Our first and most urgent objective now is to support the business and identify volume and mar- gin potential. We are focusing on cus- tomers and markets – and using our new understanding to differentiate and optimize our products and services. This also includes focusing on sustain- ability, an area in which we are strong and which presents opportunities. All of this influences each of our business units and leads to greater profitability. We are all hard at work on this.” Kickoff via Pilot Project The area is starting with a pilot project in the PLA business unit. The aim here is to quickly iden- tify volume and margin potential using automated processes and implement this with the help of the sales teams. “This will allow us to improve step by step before we roll out the methods to the rest of the company,” says Christian Sturm. The intelligent evaluation of data and the use of modern technolo- gies such as AI are key success fac- tors in this process. An analysis of the largest commercial contracts in cooperation with the AII, LAB, SGO, and LPT business units will also begin in the first quarter. The aim is to identify optimization potential for the future from which all BUs can benefit. The structural expansion of commercial capabilities is planned for the second half of the year. This involves identifying opportunities to differentiate offerings from those of competitors by gaining a deeper understanding of the market and customers. In addition, customer-re- lated processes will be measurably simplified or accelerated. 01/2024 | Xpress 07

Long-Term Success The group has restructured itself and as a result improved its com- petitive position. Procurement is taking this into account and is realigning its procurement exper- tise in order to establish con- tinuous excellence in this area. This includes leveraging further potential in the group’s purchas- ing activities, intelligently analyz- ing and utilizing all available data, and increasing the level of auto- mation across all processes. The team is also exploring how AI can be used. Ultimately, all of this contributes to value enhance- ment and the long-term success of the company. The team is also evaluating the improvement of training concepts, key perfor- mance indicators, and supplier management. T N E M E R U C O R P E C N E L L E C X E OBJECTIVE The integrated supply chain, which is transparent and perfectly intercon- nected, ensures that the customer receives the ordered quantity on the desired delivery date. That’s our ob- jective. The supply chain is lean and cost-effective, but also robust and reliable. We achieve this balancing act through enhanced planning with respect to sales and production, but also transparency in terms of stock levels and means of transportation. We increase the degree of automation through stan- dardized processes. If we implement all this, more satisfied customers will generate increased sales. In addition, our cash flow improves thanks to low- er costs and reduced working capital. through greater FOCAL POINTS We will establish a global ware- house registry and optimize routes and the network. This will increase transparency and cut costs. “Readiness check” with the BUs. Introduction of “integrated business planning” for pioneer BUs to improve planning quality. Ordering raw materials and short- term planning: System and process training will be carried out and master data improvements identified in order to make optimum use of the system. Customer service: Introduction of track-and-trace tools – giving cus- tomers increased transparency about their deliveries. “THE TIME IS NOW” Ralf Scholtz, head of Supply Chain Excellence, says: “The supply chain issues we’ve faced in recent years have uncovered weaknesses. The FORWARD! program revealed our distance from the competition. Our objectives now include supply chain transparency, the clear division of roles and responsibilities in the pro- cesses, and greater system utiliza- tion. It’s now time to seize the op- portunity to fundamentally improve in order to offer our customers a better complete package.” First Steps The team is beginning by cre- ating transparency in the global warehouses. This is the foun- dation for a lasting warehouse registry. This includes defining process owners and identifying and leveraging further potential. At the same time, integrated business planning is also on the agenda. A complete network planning solution will initially be set up for the PLA and LPT BUs and the OMS business line. During this phase, further BUs will be added in order to identify similarities and differences and create the basis for further im- plementations. Talks are already underway with providers of track- and-trace solutions. Each BU and relevant GF has delegated at least one team member to the program to support and ensure input is provided by the BU/GF. 01/2024 | Xpress 09

OBJECTIVE Innovation is one of the group’s top priorities and is being put into prac- tice through a new culture of innova- tion. Centralized oversight at the top management level will help to make better use of the knowledge and ex- pertise available within the group and to remove obstacles in the innovation process. This applies to all types of innovation, including innovation in products and applications, process- es, and business models. In the end, our aim is for innovations to lead to growth and a significant increase in EBITDA. PLANNING Within the company, the BUs drive product innovation, while the PTSE GF stands for process innovation. In the future, the newly created Innova- tion Excellence team from the DEV GF will support all BUs and GFs in sharing best practices across BUs and optimizing innovation processes within the group. This can manifest itself in a stronger market focus, but also in closer collaboration with sci- ence and industry in order to build sustainable value chains. This also includes objectives that support product-related investments in future technologies. The advancement of future projects must be supported by a cultural change within the com- pany – the key idea here is “enabling innovation.” FOCAL POINTS The innovation team has developed four fields of action to improve inno- vation activities within the group. These include: KPIs/Management/Funding Collaboration & Processes People & Skills Culture of Innovation “INNOVATIONS ARE OUR FUTURE” Christian Sturm, acting head of the Innovation Excellence team: “Inno- vations pave the way for the future of our group, differentiate us from our competitors, and should contribute significantly to the growth of LANX- ESS. To achieve this, we need to re- define the importance of innovation. Each and every one of us is called upon to play our part and enable profitable innovations in our own en- vironment.” Site Analyses The site diagnosis (OESD), which is being led by the PTSE GF, is a long-term and complex project. The OESD team consists of chemists, process engineers, and data analysts. It will kick off in the second quarter with selected facilities in North America. Here, the focus will be on optimizing the respective plant. The OESD project team will then begin work in the EMEA/International region by the beginning of the third quar- ter at the latest. The focus here is on holistic location issues. The site analyses are extensive and will take around six weeks per visit. Initial conclusions are ex- pected in two years. IT staff at the locations will support the teams in the implementation phase with AI models. The analysis gener- ally focuses on initiatives that will quickly generate a return on investment and relies on the local team to implement most of the developed plans themselves. E C N E L L E C X E I L A N O T A R E P O 01/2024 | Xpress 11

CARBON – AND NEW CUSTOMERS Laboratory work often takes place in front of a monitor: Which ion exchanger binds what and how? LPT conducts research for future technologies. are needed to provide water of the highest quality for these sensitive manufacturing processes.” Neufeind also sees LPT prod- ucts being used in carbon capture systems that extract CO2 from the atmosphere. Ad- sorbers that absorb the climate-damaging carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could be used for this purpose. The CO2 bound to the adsorber can then either be stored in suitable underground storage facilities or further processed as a raw material into important basic chemicals. “Through our products, we offer technological solutions to environmental problems,” says Neufeind, pointing to another example. “Lewatit® re- liably removes traces of heavy metals from mining wastewater. We protect the environ- ment from pollutants in many areas.” The iron oxide adsorber Bayoxide® can also re- move arsenic or phosphate from water. When it comes to the environment, the BU wants to do its part and fulfill the sustain- ability criteria with its products. “That’s what our customers expect,” says Scheffler. As a result, LPT offers three Lewatit® products for drinking water applications under the Scopeblue label. They have a product car- bon footprint reduced by up to 61 percent and consist of over 90 percent bio-circular raw materials. Scopeblue products are in no way inferior to conventionally produced products in terms of performance, as they are manufactured in the same facilities us- ing the same formulas. “In this way, we are helping our customers achieve their own cli- mate targets and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions,” explains Scheffler. “We are also helping them gain an edge over com- petitors who do not offer any sustainable alternatives.” The shift towards sustainable production can also be seen at the Lewatit® Focus on the Customer The LPT BU is one of the world’s three leading suppliers of ion exchange resins. It currently has 500 employees at three locations and sells its 160 products in over 85 countries across the globe. It generates half of its sales in the EMEA region. The BU has made the new LewaPlus software avail- able to its 1,500 customers free of charge. Customers can use it to conceptualize ion exchanger pro- cesses, design new systems, or optimize existing ones in terms of their chemical consumption. “The software helps precisely coordi- nate the use of Lewatit®, reduce the consumption of chemicals, and therefore produce in a more cost-saving and environmentally friendly way,” says Scheffler. production sites in Germany (Leverkusen and Bitterfeld) and India (Jhagadia). In Bit- terfeld, more than half of the electricity re- quired comes from renewable sources, and Jhagadia uses ground nutshell briquettes to generate steam. In the near future, the facil- ity there will be operated exclusively using renewable energy. The LPT team is also working to build last- ing customer relationships. This can only be achieved with open communication, says Scheffler. When raw material and energy prices skyrocketed, LPT developed a tool that made the constantly fluctuating prices and their impact on production costs trans- parent for customers. “Our customers then accepted our adjusted prices,” says Schef- fler. The transparency paid off.

FOCUS: COMMENTARY “ If we’re good, we want to be better. That’s our ambition.” Creating lasting value – that’s the aim of the FORWARD! project. And where do we create this value? Where there’s the greatest potential – and that lies in achieving business excel- lence across all areas of the company. Karsten Job, head of the Commercial Excellence pilot project, explains how we’ll get there. I was delighted when, shortly before the Global Leadership Conference in Bruges, I was given the task of developing a con- cept for implementing commercial excellence in Sales & Mar- keting. This was exactly the job that we in the PLA BU had been targeting for some time. In Bruges I also met Christian Sturm. He’s our new head of the DEV GF and therefore my partner for this task. We immediately formed working groups and set our- selves the goal of presenting a concrete implementation plan at the Leadership Team Meeting on December 20. Employees representing our BUs and all functions relevant to Sales & Mar- keting are members of the working groups that were formed as a result. Incidentally, the response was overwhelming – within a very short time, we had assembled a team of around 40 highly motivated colleagues. Initially, the group focused on making the topic of commercial excellence accessible and easy to understand. Commercial ex- cellence is nothing other than the structured description of all aspects of commercial activity and how to carry them out in a structured manner based on the current “state of the art.” Inci- dentally, “state of the art” is a very important term. We’ve already implemented similar programs at LANXESS in the past. The CSE initiative, for example, had practically the same objective as what we’re pursuing with Commercial Excellence. But now, just a few years later, we have an extremely valuable new asset for our project: our data! And not only do we have the data, we now also have the tools to gain insights from this data in a way that simply wasn’t possible before. This is where most of the value creation potential lies that we want to leverage with Commercial Excellence. We want to establish data-based processes that are clearly structured and highly automated. If implemented sys- tematically, we will be able to generate maximum value from our products and services and, in doing so, create additional value for LANXESS. At the same time, processes are becoming faster and more efficient. This helps our colleagues in the Sales & Marketing groups, but also our customers, for whom doing business with us will be easier, quicker, and less complicated. By focusing on customer proximity, we can understand the val- ue of our products and services for customers even better, offer better products and services, and sell them to customers or on the market at a higher price. The Commercial Excellence working group put a great deal of effort into developing and presenting a very detailed concept in a short period of time, which met with broad approval at the LTM on December 20 and was adopted accordingly. This con- cept contains a concrete project plan for the first year as well as a proposal for a suitable organization to implement this plan. We began implementing the approach we had agreed upon immediately after the Christmas break. In the coming weeks, we will report in detail and in depth on the status and progress of activities so that the entire organization has a clear and un- derstandable picture. This is how we want to leverage commercial excellence to cre- ate lasting added value for the company. It’s important to note that this is neither a project nor an initiative. It is a continuous endeavor to create lasting value through excellence in all com- mercial areas. It is a ongoing process that never ends. We want to be good, and if we’re good, we want to be even better. Karsten Job, head of the Com- mercial Excellence pilot project and head of the PLA BU. SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE We want to share the knowledge that LANXESS employees possess. In this series, employees write infor- mally about their observations or experiences. Do you also have a story to tell? Or do you have a burning question that you would like to ask an expert? Then simply send us an email: xpress@lanxess.com 01/2024 | Xpress 15

OINTS MARTIN LICHTENHELDT, Technical Marketing, LPT BU OLAF HALLE, R&D Coordination, All BU ERIK DENKENA, IT Project Lead “USP on the market” “Transparent communication” “A wealth of expertise” "Many of our customers have set clearly defined climate targets for themselves, just as we have done as LANXESS. This is why we’re receiving more and more inquiries about the sustainability performance of our products. The Engine offers us outstanding benefits in this regard. Internally, it helps us determine the main sources of emissions for our products and identify potential ways in which we can further improve the sustain- ability of our portfolio. In some areas, this is even easier than we thought – for example, by switching consumables that we hadn’t re- ally considered before. We’ve already imple- mented one change in our Lewatit® produc- tion in Leverkusen, for example: by switching to green caustic soda, we’ve achieved a significantly better PCF here with only minor additional costs. Externally, the Engine gives us a clear com- petitive advantage. After all, our customers want reliable figures that they can in turn pass on to their customers. Thanks to the En- gine, we can provide this information without a great deal of manual effort and with TÜV certification – and to our knowledge, we are currently the only manufacturer of ion exchangers with such a tool. This is some- thing we obviously want to take advantage of – so we’re prepared, the sales team is trained, and we can respond quickly as soon as we receive an inquiry. In our view, PCF certificates will soon be as commonplace for product marketing as safety or product data sheets.” “At AII, we have been heavily involved in the development of the Engine from the very beginning – and are also working with the project team to drive the tool’s further advancement. Because one thing is clear: the market is demanding certificates – and drawing them up them manually as we did before would be far too time-consuming. The Engine takes a lot of work off our hands and enables transparent communication with our customers based on clearly defined standards. It also helps us understand our own products even better and to highlight correlations. When it comes to developing new sustain- able alternatives, the new simulation tool, which can provide information on how much we could potentially reduce carbon emis- sions by using green raw materials or green energy, is particularly interesting. Discussing these figures with our customers helps us get a feel for the areas in which there’s a will- ingness to pay a premium for a greener prod- uct. A reliable PCF that is better than that of a competitor’s product is definitely a good selling point. Due to the complex operational relationships within the AII business unit, we are unfortunately not yet able to depict all of the values for our products in the tool as pre- cisely as we would like – for example, when it comes to the distribution of certain types of emissions. Nevertheless, we’re definitely on the right track with the Engine and we can’t afford to let up now.” “Since the launch of the PCF Engine, we’ve continuously implemented minor improve- ments and enhancements, both in terms of content and visualization through various dashboards. We now offer various modules for carrying out detailed raw material analy- ses, for example, or analyzing a product car- bon footprint (PCF) in detail along the value chain. Another new feature is the simulation tool, which BUs can use to calculate how a PCF would change if, for example, a conven- tional raw material were replaced by a green one or green energy were used. This means that we can no longer only calculate a PCF retrospectively on the basis of actual sales, but also in advance. We are currently implementing a whole se- ries of new requirements in the system, as recertification by TÜV Rheinland is coming up in the spring. In 2024, our tool will take another exciting step forward. The fact that we can quickly adapt to business require- ments also shows the advantage of a system developed in-house. It isn’t just an off-the- shelf solution, but a tool that incorporates a wealth of expertise, experience, and data from LANXESS. I’d like to take this opportu- nity to once again highlight the outstanding collaboration with Anna Schröder and her team. In this project, we truly put the idea ‘act as one team’ into practice. 01/2024 | Xpress 17

WITH ADVANCE NOTICE The Kalama site is undergoing its first turnaround this year as a part of LANXESS. The US colleagues are working together hand in hand with the German team. the blueprint for the next turnaround. This is something everyone is interested in – above all, of course, the F&F business unit’s man- agement team. “We’re all in the same boat and pursuing the same goal,”, says Kemnitz. EVERY STEP DOCUMENTED – TO ENSURE QUALITY But does every single step a technician has to take to repair a boiler really need to be described in excruciating detail? “We’re doing what’s necessary,” says Kemnitz. The work is so extensive that the company’s own team has to rely on the help of external com- panies, some of which in turn use subcontractors. “In order to maintain our high standards of quality in the short time available to us during the shutdown, we have to be able to rely on preprepared instructions and materi- al documents,” he says. SUCCESS ONLY POSSIBLE TO- GETHER WITH LOCAL COL- LEAGUES And so the small PTSE CM BILL MCKAY, Kalama Deputy Site Manager, F&F BU ANDREAS KEMNITZ, Head of Central Maintenance, PTSE GF team, which is fully integrated into the US team, meets regularly with the US engineers and analyzes how far along they are with the individual measures – whether they are on schedule or whether they need to take mea- sures to speed up the processes. “We’d be completely ineffective without our local col- leagues. We only provide the process and co- ordination as a blueprint, while our colleagues in Kalama contribute the important knowl- edge of the plant. Only the two together make the whole thing a success,” says Kemnitz. 01/2024 | Xpress 19

PUZZLES & COMPETITIONS! 1. MIRROR IMAGE? Which of the objects has no mirror image? 2. HOW LONG WILL THE PLANT IN KALAMA BE IDLE DURING THE TURNAROUND? a. One week b. Exactly 18 days c. Four weeks are scheduled 3. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE There are five differences between the two photos. Can you find them? S S E X N A L : s o t o h P LANXESS MEANS... lancer Better overview, faster workflow: how can we make the invoice approval process more efficient? This is the question that a multidisciplinary team from the IT, Con- trolling, and Accounting group functions has been working on. Together, they’ve now launched the new “VIM Workplace.” The new start page provides a complete overview of all of the invoices waiting to be approved, with all of the relevant infor- mation available at a glance. Thanks to the seamless SAP integration, users can also directly view other details available in the system, for example regarding the supplier or the order in question. success Systematic implementation, convincing performance: LANXESS took first place in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) Europe in the Chemicals category, achieving 79 out of 100 points. In the DJSI World, LANXESS came in third place. The company achieved particularly impressive results in the areas of climate strategy, water, product stewardship, and occupational safety. Back in November, the rating agency MSCI ESG already con- firmed LANXESS’ AA rating for the third time in a row. This makes the company one of the best in the diversified chem- icals industry. And in August, EcoVadis confirmed LANXESS’ platinum level in its sustainability assessment. This honor is reserved for just the top one percent of the more than 100,000 companies evaluated by EcoVadis. JOIN IN AND WIN This makes every voice sound even better. In this issue, we’re giving away this speaker with Alexa capability and a clock in one. Simply send the answer to the second puzzle to xpress@lanxess.com. Participation is only open to employees of LANXESS and its subsidiaries (excluding Corporate Communications employ- ees). Only one entry per participant allowed. All decisions are final. The solution will appear in the next edition of Xpress. The winner of the giveaway in Xpress 03/2023 was Thomas Anton from Germany. The correct answer was b: “Biosecurity products for humans and animals.” 01/2024 | Xpress 21

T 50! we also do it in the most climate-friendly way possible and are aware of our social responsibility. We fully stand behind the LANXESS goal of climate-neutral produc- tion by 2040. This also sets us apart from our competitors. I’m convinced that all of this is the deciding factor – and that we’ll continue to achieve a lot in Kallo over the next 50 years. Longest-serving employee: Patrick de Paepe, process manager, has worked at the site since 1983. He followed in the footsteps of his father, who during his day worked for Bayer. He climbed the ranks from operator to shift supervisor and has been a process manager since 2017. “I’m still fascinated by chemical engineering and I simply love learning,” he replies when asked what kept him on the job for so long. Now he is passing his knowledge on to his younger coworkers. AI IN KALLO As part of FORWARD!, an AI-based pilot model was launched in Kallo to optimize the way the plant is operat- ed. The aim is to save energy and raw materials. DMA employees in Cologne are now fine-tuning the model and pre- paring the data together with process experts in Kallo. “It’s a perfect collaboration,” says data scientist Rasit Faller, DMA, Develop- ment GF. “The team there knows the plant inside out and often supplies crucial ideas for new approaches,” he explains. Faller makes regular trips to Kallo and expects the AI model to be up and running in early summer. At the same time, the DMA team is also working on other AI projects. “One, for example, relates specifically to the topic of saving energy,” says Faller. And this is a topic that will certainly be of great interest to other sites in Europe. S S E X N A L : s o t o h P 01/2024 | Xpress 23