German specialty chemicals company LANXESS is launching a series of international rubber conferences. The kick-off event is the rubber conference in Macau, China, on June 28 and 29, 2010. Similar conferences will then be held in Brazil and India in September and December. “In Asia and Latin America, rubber plays a decisive role for the competitive development of these regions' booming economies,” says Axel C. Heitmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of LANXESS. “Rubber is a key element for mobility in particular. The high demand for rubber products and new legal regulations on environmental issues, for example, are necessitating intensive cross-sector dialogue.”

LANXESS is inviting representatives of the business, political, media and science communities to attend the Rubber Days in China, Brazil and India.

LANXESS initiated this series of lectures and discussions back in fall 2009 in Germany. At a scientific colloquium in Cologne on September 12, 2009, the company celebrated the first World Rubber Day, in honor of Fritz Hofmann, the chemist who invented synthetic rubber over 100 years ago in Wuppertal, Germany. “As the world's leading manufacturer of synthetic rubber, we want to play a role in shaping developments in this area,” adds Heitmann.

"The Rubber Days are an important platform for demonstrating our technology expertise and our pioneering role in the manufacture of high-performance rubber products," declares Heitmann.

The Rubber Days in each country primarily comprise cross-sector conferences, at which leading experts in the rubber industry from the respective regions meet to discuss topics and share experiences. In Macau, for example, more than 400 representatives of industry, universities, government and the media are invited to exchange ideas and learn more about synthetic rubber and its diverse fields of application in everyday life.

The topics of discussion in Macau include the future development of the Chinese economy, the market potential of high-tech synthetic rubber, the role of this versatile product as a means to innovation and the question as to how the country's industry can master the challenge of balancing dramatic economic growth with environmental protection. The event will be accompanied by an interactive, audiovisual exhibition. The products range from fuel-saving high-performance tires to golf balls with a longer trajectory.

"We plan to establish this series of events as a permanent fixture in the global rubber industry. The attendees we meet here are key multipliers, through whom LANXESS can significantly increase its sales opportunities in growth markets," Heitmann remarks.