Lanxess AG which is one of the major chemical players in Europe is looking forward towards expanding its production capacity for anti-oxidants in Taiwan. The proposed capacity expansion will raise the annual production of anti-oxidants at the company’s Taiwan site by several kilotons. The investment comes in the wake of the company trying to expand its foothold in the Asian markets. Additional capacity is expected to be available by 2022.

The company has seen rapid market growth in aminic antioxidants in the recent scenario. Apart from the upcoming the capacity at the Taiwan site, the company also has manufacturing sites for the production of antioxidants in Canada, and Italy. The proposed capacity addition aims at strengthening the company’s market position and grow its customer base in the Asian markets.

Antioxidants are materials which inhibit oxidation which is a chemical process which generates free radicals that can possibly damage the cells of the body. There are mainly two types of antioxidants which include natural and synthetic antioxidants. The global demand for antioxidants stood at around 100 thousand tonnes in 2020 and is expected to grow at a healthy CAGR of around 5.6% during the upcoming years. Rosemary extract, vitamin c, vitamin e, etc. are some of the examples of natural antioxidants.

As per ChemAnalyst, “the proposed expansion plan of Lanxess towards increasing production capacity of antioxidants in the Taiwan site is an indication that the demand for the antioxidants is rising in the Asian markets and companies are looking forwards towards tapping into the growing market for antioxidants. This proposed capacity expansion will help in the release of supply pressure in Asia for several antioxidants and hence the prices are also expected to experience a downturn in the near future in Asia.