Where Restrictions Spark Creativity

Amid stricter EU regulations and growing pressure to innovate, the PCH plant in Leverkusen is holding its own with phosphorus-based flame retardants. For Ralph Armbrust, plant manager of the Polymer Additives business unit, this is a source of motivation: “We always have to come up with new ideas—that’s exactly what drives us.”

A quick glance at the display, a quick adjustment, and another check. Then on to the next step. The employees at the PCH plant in Leverkusen keep a close eye on their systems. A lot of processes are automated, but human intervention is still necessary. Temperature, pressure, formulation—any deviation can be critical. Routine and, above all, experience are key factors in the evaluation process. But some things are changing, too. 

“The general business environment has become significantly more challenging,” says plant manager Ralph Armbrust. “At their peak during the war in Ukraine, energy prices had quadrupled in the short term; before the war in Iran, they were about twice as high as before.”  And on top of that, rising raw material costs and an order book falling short of expectations—all consequences of a tense global situation and geopolitical upheavals. But the plant is operating at a decent capacity utilization rate. “That’s also thanks to our excellent purchasing,” says Armbrust.

Experience Makes the Difference
If you walk through the plant, you can sense  that decades of expertise have gone into every process here. From raw materials to the finished product—everything happens on-site. “We’re very good at backward integration,” says Armbrust. What sounds technical becomes tangible in production. A long, orange-colored reactor cascade stretches across the factory floor. As it winds its way downward, materials are combined, processed, and further developed under precisely controlled conditions. Following several process stages, the product eventually exits the main distillation column. This plant manufactures aromatic flame retardants—such as Disflamoll® TKP.

Cost Is the Deciding Factor
But requirements are changing—especially due to stricter legal regulations. As a result, the long-standing bestseller Levagard®  PP came under regulatory pressure as part of REACH. The product is suspected of being carcinogenic. As a result, an alternative had to be developed.

“Developing new products is part of our daily routine in research and application engineering,” says Armbrust. Together with his deputy, Lukas Omann, and division engineer Christoph Kolanoski, he reviews and explores ideas for operational implementation. After all, it’s not just the idea itself that matters. “It often comes down to whether it can be implemented cost-effectively,” says Armbrust. “Actually, that’s what it always comes down to,” adds Omann.

Levagard® 3000 is now available as an alternative to Levagard® PP. It is considered nonhazardous, but is more difficult to produce. Levagard® 3000 is currently being tested in a new plant setup. The goal is to significantly reduce the investment costs for regular production.

At the same time, the existing product will continue to be offered. “But it’s only a matter of time before customers start asking for alternatives,” says Armbrust. “We’re ready when they do.”

Fierce Competition
In addition to such regulatory requirements, international competition is also creating pressure. “But we’re fighting back,” says Armbrust. Levagard® PP was one of the first products for which LANXESS initiated—and won—an anti-dumping proceeding in Brussels. The reason for this was that foreign competitors’ prices were lower than the company’s own production costs. “We’re now running at full capacity on this production line,” says Armbrust.

Such procedures are complex, time-consuming, and tie up a lot of resources. "But for Levagard® PP, it was worth the effort,” says the plant manager.

Looking Ahead
For Armbrust, one thing is certain—there will always be demand for flame retardants. They help slow the spread of fires, thereby giving people in danger precious additional minutes. 

He is convinced that as long as there is a need to make materials safer in construction, industry, or electric transportation, products from Leverkusen will be in demand. In addition: “Crises do put us under pressure. "But they also push us to become better.”