Krefeld-Uerdingen - Germany

The epicenter for iron oxide.

Krefeld-Uerdingen in western Germany is home to the headquarters of LANXESS Inorganic Pigments and is by far the largest site in the world for the production of inorganic iron oxide and chrome oxide pigments.

Krefeld-Uerdingen is the epicenter of LANXESS’s global inorganic pigment operations. High-quality Bayferrox® and Colortherm® pigments in red, yellow, brown, black and green have been in production there since 1926, as have the technical oxides of the Bayoxide® product range.

Pigments are produced using either the Laux, precipitation or Penniman processes. The facilities are the biggest of their kind in the world. Naturally, the logistics systems in Krefeld-Uerdingen are specifically equipped to cope with these volumes. Up to 1,600 metric tons of pigments can be dispatched worldwide every day. A fully automatic packaging system and a special warehouse management system have been introduced to handle these large quantities. The multi-story automatic block storage area is computer controlled – a cutting-edge example of warehouse logistics that ensures optimal capacity utilization and rapid access to the entire product range. This ensures that deliveries to end customers and distribution partners are reliable.

However, the Krefeld-Uerdingen site is also setting standards in sustainability. For example, innovative processes are being used to clean process water containing iron. Thanks to this highly developed and sophisticated technology, several thousand metric tons of black pigments can be obtained in this way each year and the corresponding amount of waste can be avoided. The “wastewater” is so pure that it can be fed directly into the River Rhine. Another impressive example is the Laux process. It is currently the only industrially used process in the world for the production of iron oxides that requires virtually no energy input at all during the synthesis, but itself releases energy in the form of heat. This heat is used to generate steam or hot water to dissolve the iron sulfates or wash the pigments – a process that is currently unmatched worldwide in terms of its energy efficiency.

Each year, the global importance of the Krefeld-Uerdingen site is cemented through far-reaching investment designed to improve processes, drive innovation and expand capacity.

Headquartered at Krefeld-Uerdingen, LANXESS Inorganic Pigments has shown that a leading manufacturer of inorganic pigments can operate successfully from Germany. Besides production, the management team, research and development division, and global marketing, product and supply chain management units are all located there. The facilities are also embedded in the fully comprehensive infrastructure of a cutting-edge chemical park.