1882
Establishment of an ongoing sales joint venture between Bayer and Meyerink & Co. in Shanghai

1891
Establishment of a representative office in Hong Kong through Meyerink

1913
China becomes tenth largest purchaser of pigments, own agency established.

Friedr. Bayer & Co. established

1922
Establishment of trading company under Chinese law: “Bayer Pharma Co.”

1936
Establishment of Bayer-Shanghai Dental Ltd. and two new agencies set up in Beijing and Shanghai

1988
Major framework agreement signed between Bayer AG and the Chinese Chemicals Ministry on November 27, 1993

1993
Bayer and its subsidiary companies conclude negotiations on six joint ventures in China.

1995
Bayer and Wuxi Dyestuff Factory (WDF) establish joint venture to produce formulations for dispersion pigments under the name Bayer Wuxi Dyestuff Co. Ltd.

Bayer and Shanghai Coatings Corp. (SCC) sign contracts for joint venture to produce iron oxide formulations under the name Bayer Shanghai Pigments Ltd.

1997
Bayer establishes a joint venture in China with Jinling Petrochemical Corporation (Nanjing) to produce and sell polyether formulations

1998
Bayer achieves sales in excess of DM one billion in China for the first time


2005
 
January
LANXESS shares are traded for the first time on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on January 31, 2005. Most of Bayer’s chemical activities and about one third of the polymers business had been carved out in 2004 and transferred to a new entity, LANXESS Deutschland GmbH.

February
Expanded production facility for leather chemicals goes on stream in Wuxi, China
Establishment of a joint venture with Tong Feng and Xinda to produce rubber chemicals in Tongling

July
Opening of a technology centre for the development of technical rubber in Shanghai

2006

March
Inauguration of a production plant for polymer-bound chemicals in Qingdao

April
"Chinaplas 2006" in Shanghai LANXESS presents itself for the first time ever as a full-service company at this plastics conference, which is the largest in Asia, and thereby strengthens its Asia offensive.

Commissioning of a production plant for high-tech plastics in Wuxi

July
Opening of the hydrazine hydrate plant in Weifang, China
As part of the joint venture with the Weifang Yaxing Chemical Company, an entire production plant in the USA is to be dismantled, shipped to China and rebuilt in Weifang.

2007

March
LANXESS announces a new plant for lubricant additives in Qingdao

April
Opening of production site for raw pigments in Shanghai To quickly and efficiently ensure the economic supply of raw materials for the production of inorganic pigments in Shanghai, LANXESS rented a new production facility.

October
The plant for antioxidant 6PPD production starts operation.

2008

June
LANXESS started its first acquisition initiative in China. The take-over of a state-of-the-art iron oxide pigment production facility in Jinshan strengthened the position of the Inorganic Pigments business unit across the Asia-Pacific region.

July
LANXESS opens a new Rubber Research Center (RRCQ) in Qingdao, Shandong Province. Established in close cooperation with Qingdao’s University of Science and Technology (QUST), the world-class research center is located within the university’s vicinity.
LANXESS opens the new China headquarters in Shanghai.

For the second consecutive year, LANXESS brings one of the best youth orchestras to China as part of the “LANXESS young.euro.classic China Tour

2009

March
LANXESS has built a new plant for the manufacture of lubricant additives in Qingdao.  It has started up production in the beginning of 2009

May
LANXESS opened the phase II of RRCQ in Qingdao.

June   
LANXESS announced to acquire the business and production assets of Jiangsu Polyols Chemical Co., Ltd. in Jiangsu province, China.

September

LANXESS completed the acquisition of the chemical businesses and production assets belonging to China’s Jiangsu Polyols Chemical Co. Ltd.  Subsequently, the new legal entity LANXESS (Liyang) Polyols Co, Ltd was founded.

November 
The Inorganic Pigments business unit has also broken ground on a new manufacturing plant for black iron oxide pigments in Jinshan. This plant is scheduled to go on stream in the fourth quarter of 2010, and will have an annual capacity of 10,000 tons. Both facilities in Jinshan ensure the raw material supply for LANXESS Shanghai Pigments, a mixing and milling pigment plant in Taopu.

LANXESS signed a letter of intent with the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA) to strengthen existing ties. Both parties have agreed to cooperate closely in the future on issues such as policies, development planning, environmental protection legislation and future trend analysis in the chemical industry.

LANXESS inaugurated a new production line for the leather chemical LEVOTAN® at its site in Wuxi, with initially an additional output of 1,800 metric tons per year.

2010
June
LANXESS successfully hosted its first-ever ‘China Rubber Days’ in Macau, Greater China, themed ‘Driving sustainable growth through high-tech innovation’. More than 300 representatives from the industry, academia, government and media joined together at this world-class event to exchange ideas and learned more about synthetic rubber, which helps shape modern life today.

July
LANXESS inaugurated an upgraded wastewater treatment plant in Liyang, Jiangsu province on July 19, 2010.   The new state-of-the-art facility will help reduce the plant’s emissions to build an even more environmentally sustainable production site.  Meanwhile, LANXESS announced the facility in Liyang will be upgraded in order to expand production capacity.  The first phase is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010 and the second phase by the end of 2011.  The new capacity will be more than double the current one.

September
LANXESS-TSRC broke ground in Nantong, China. The plant which will be operated by LANXESS Technical Rubber Products business unit and TSRC Corporation will start production in the first half year of 2012 with the annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons to serve the rapidly growing Chinese market with high-quality grades of Nitrile Rubber (NBR). 

October
LANXESS inaugurated a new production unit for high quality black iron oxide pigments at its site in Jinshan, Shanghai.  The produced color shades are the most advanced bluish type black pigments in the industry. With the annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons of black iron oxides, in addition to the already existing 28,000 metric tons of high quality yellow iron oxides, LANXESS can service customers globally out of the most sophisticated iron oxide plant in Asia with these high-end Bayferrox® pigments.

December
LANXESS announced the largest leather chemicals investment in China ever.  The company will invest USD 40 million in a plant in Changzhou for leather chemicals with 50,000 metric tons per year.  It is planned to go on stream by the first half of 2013 and will produce premium LANXESS leather chemicals for the local Chinese market such as Tanigan®, Isoderm®, Euderm® and Levotan® for various applications like leather tanning, dyeing and finishing.

2011
January
LANXESS has been awarded as one of China’s Top Employers for 2011, by Corporate Research Foundation (CRF), an independent organization that identifies top-performing companies in areas of HR, leadership and strategy.

May
LANXESS broke ground on a new materials distribution center in Wuxi for high-tech plastics. Covering an area of 30,000 square meters in the Wuxi New District, the facility integrates testing center, production site, and the hub for customer service and technical support covering the Asian market as a whole.

June
LANXESS signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Changzhou Institute of Engineering Technology to work together to develop and enhance a vocational and occupational training center for LANXESS China.

July
LANXESS broke ground for the construction of its largest leather chemicals plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. The facility with an investment of up to USD 40 million is designed for a capacity of 50,000 metric tons per year and will come on stream in the first half of 2013.

LANXESS inaugurated a new production line for high-tech plastics at its site in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, China. The new production line, representing an investment of Euro 10 million, expands the plant’s annual capacity for high-tech plastics from 40,000 tons per year to 60,000 tons.

August
LANXESS opened a Technology Center in Qingdao to serve customers in Asia and China by providing analytical, technical and consultancy services, as well as customized-solutions centered on LANXESS’ flagship product Velcorin.

September
LANXESS inaugurated an incinerator at Liyang site. This facility can be used to clean the emissions while generating steam for energy-saving production, and thereby significantly contributes to save energy and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

2012
February
LANXESS placed a Chinese offshore Renminbi (CNH) denominated bond in Hong Kong as part of its existing Debt Issuance Program. LANXESS is the first German chemicals company to issue a RMB denominated bond.