Lanxess bets big on Indian two-wheeler industry

Lanxess, the specialty chemicals company, is betting big on the two-wheeler industry in India to drives sales of its high-performance elastomers. The company says its high-performance elastomers like Therban, Perbunan, Krynac and Baymod N can help replace conventional elastomers in two-wheelers.

Perbunan and Krynac represent a series of high-quality oil-resistant acrylonitrile-butadiene rubbers (NBR). These two product ranges consist of several grades ranging between 18 percent to 49 percent acrylonitrile content (ACN) which primarily influences and improves resistance to swelling, oils, greases and fuels.

Nitrile rubber is used for making carburettor gaskets, leakage-free seals in shock absorbers, vibration dampers and hoses. Therban HNBR (nitrile rubber) is a partially or completely hydrogenated acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber with resistance to heat, weather, aggressive fluids such as oils, fuels, and other non-polar liquids. Lanxess says Therban is best suited for making clutch dampers, fuel tubes, engine head gaskets, fuel tanks and gauge gasket, crankcase O-ring, seals, timing belts and hoses.

The Baymod N product range, which consists of specialty powdered nitrile rubber (NBR), has proved to be an effective binder to phenolic resins with improved flexibility, anti-fading and noise reduction in friction materials. According to Lanxess, Baymod, which has application in brake lining, friction pads and clutch facings, encapsulates abrasive powders and decreases the wear and tear of the metal rotor for brake grades.

Lanxess markets all grades of EPDM rubber under the Keltan brand name. The Keltan portfolio consists of a broad range of global grades with diverse properties that offer freedom in formulations, product design and processing windows. In two-wheelers, it can be used for grommets, handlebar grip, footrest, rubber vibration dampers, damper headlamp and tail-light gasket.

Lanxess’ focus on the Indian two-wheeler industry is understandable. This vehicle segment has proved to be the most resilient to the market slowdown and in fact, in 2013-14, posted an overall year-on-year growth of 7.31 percent with sales of 14,805,481 units in the domestic market. In contrast, the passenger vehicle market declined by 6.05 percent to 2,503,685 units in 2013-14. The two-wheeler market in the country is slated to grow by a volume CAGR of 8-9 percent to reach a size of 22-23 million units by 2016-17, according to an ICRA report.