Rubber Journal Asia Synthetic Rubber
Arlanxeo making strides in the Asian sector Synthetic rubber company Arlanxeo appointed
RJA: Arlanxeo is aiming to be a leading global supplier of synthetic rubber. What steps have been taken so far to achieve this?
Joosang Kim as Managing Director of
Arlanxeo Singapore Pte Ltd, effective 1
Joosang Kim: Arlanxeo is focused on the performance elastomers business to be the leading global supplier of performance elastomers. We are focused on our core business on the development, manufacturing, and marketing of high-performance rubber for use in several industries like the automotive, tyre, electrical, construction, and oil and gas industries, among others. Furthermore, we have the backing of Lanxess and Saudi Aramco, two strong shareholders who have laid a solid foundation for us to build a backward-integrated value chain in the mid-term.
February 2018. He replaces Georges Barbey, who has left the company to seek new career
opportunities. RJA interviewed Joosang Kim to find out what plans the rubber company has for the future.
T
he growing appetite for synthetic rubber is hinged largely on an increasing trend for fuel-efficient tyres and the need for cost-effective alternatives to natural rubber. As well, synthetic rubbers are receptive to material technology advancement, which many manufacturers are making headway in. Notably, Asia Pacific (APAC) represents the largest and fastest growing market for synthetic rubber, projected to reach a value of nearly US$38 billion within the next five years, amid the booming automotive as well as non-tyre industries in the region. The region’s market Joosang Kim, Managing Director potential is vast and is Singapore, Arlanxeo anticipated to remain so over the coming years. Arlanxeo, the Lanxess and Saudi Aramco joint venture synthetic rubber maker, reveals the important role the APAC region plays for the company, in this exclusive RJA interview with Arlanxeo’s new Country Managing Director for Singapore, Joosang Kim. Prior to joining Germany-headquartered Lanxess and Netherlands-based Arlanxeo, Joosang Kim accumulated over 15 years of experience in the chemical industry. Since joining Lanxess in 2007, Joosang Kim has served in various leadership positions within Lanxess’s synthetic rubber business in several Asian markets, including Japan, South Korea, and China. With the establishment of Arlanxeo in 2016, the South Korean executive headed the Tyre and Specialty Rubber Business Unit for APAC and was based in Singapore.
Arlanxeo’s products and solutions are widely applied; the company is aggressively developing for the automotive industry products that will play an important role in energy saving cars, according to Kim
This is made possible through our network of eight R&D centres and four applications laboratories and we have developed the most competitive and innovative range of products of the highest quality. We have continuously strengthened our R&D to optimise our production processes in terms of energy efficiency, resource consumption, and the quality of our rubber products to provide the best solution for our customers. Arlanxeo has also made sure to have a presence in all key markets and to be near our customers with a global presence of 20 production sites in nine countries, allowing us to support their operations locally. This further ensures we remain close to the market to better understand our customers’ needs and tailor solutions to meet those needs. We have also deployed the latest technology and efficient business processes at our plants to ensure we maintain a sustainable production process as well.
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