Specialty chemicals group LANXESS has held the 4th Colored Concrete Works Forum at Grand Hyatt in Seoul, South Korea, on June 23, 2011. The Inorganic Pigment business unit, one of the leading manufacturers of iron oxide pigments, in partnership with local producer Wooshin Pigment, highlighted the advantages of iron oxide and chromium oxide pigments. At the same time, superior characteristics of colored concrete achieved by using Bayferrox pigments were showcased. About 120 guests, including architects, engineers, constructors, and journalists attended the event.

The rising demand for inorganic pigments in is mainly driven by the ongoing urbanization. This megatrend has led to a boom in the construction industry. "The Colored Concrete Works Forum, which selected Seoul as its first Asian designation, marks the importance of the Asian markets and especially the Korean market. For South Korea’s fast growing and modernizing architectural culture, LANXESS is committed to provide customized solutions and sustainable technical expertise of colored concrete." said Dr. Wolfgang Oehlert, Vice President of the LANXESS Inorganic Pigment business unit for Asia Pacific.

Bayferrox pigments applied to concrete give the construction material a natural warm color, so that colored concrete has become an increasing trend in modern exposed concrete architecture in South Korea. Supporting this, Bayferrox inorganic iron oxide pigments of LANXESS offer outstanding quality, particularly in weather resistance, color consistency and tinting strength.

During the 4th Colored Concrete Works Forum, Lutz Kohnert, Head of the Global Competence Center Construction at LANXESS, presented technical applications of Bayferrox pigment and how it can serve as an effective solution for coloring concrete. Lutz Kohnert, also presented international examples such as Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, New Astra Bridge in Stockholm in Sweden or Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

Introducing more case studies from South Korea, the construction company C-Space C&E and Wooshin Pigment put an accent with strong aesthetic potential of colored concrete. A number of domestic projects, e.g. Leeum (Samsung Museum of Art) in Seoul, Daum Communications' headquarter office in Jeju Island, Heyri Art Village and The Book City in Paju, were able to adopt a creative approach to color and beautify the landscape by using Bayferrox pigments.

Detailed information on Colored Concrete Works can be found on the website www.colored-concrete-works.com.

LANXESS is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of iron-oxide-based inorganic pigments, producing around 350,000 metric tons per year of iron oxide and chromium oxide pigments at its facilities in Germany, Brazil and China. The IPG business unit belongs to LANXESS’ Performance Chemicals segment, which achieved total sales of EUR 1.98 billion in fiscal 2010.