Cologne/Memphis, September 15, 2020 – Due to the continuous strong demand for disinfectants, specialty chemicals company LANXESS is planning to expand its production capacity for Oxone monopersulfate by around 50 percent. To this end, the company intends to invest a lower double-digit million euro sum in its production facility in Memphis, USA. 

LANXESS uses Oxone monopersulfate as the main active ingredient in many of its Virkon and Rely+On disinfection products. Demand for these products has increased significantly in recent months due to, amongst others, the outbreak of African swine fever as well as the corona pandemic. The company also sells Oxone as a powerful oxidizing agent for numerous other applications. The capacity expansion is expected to be completed in the second half of 2022.

“Disinfection products are important growth drivers in our highly profitable Consumer Protection segment. We expect a sustainable high level of demand even after the corona pandemic,” said Matthias Zachert, Chairman of the LANXESS Board of Management.

Michael Schäfer, head of LANXESS' Material Protection Products business unit, added: “We are also seeing a growing demand for Oxone in the water treatment sector as well as from the electronics and paper industries. We want to meet this demand by expanding our production capacity.”

Long-term trend towards more disinfection and increasing demand for oxidizing agents

Under the umbrella brand Virkon, LANXESS develops and sells products that agricultural businesses use for disinfection purposes. These products help to contain the spread of diseases such as African swine fever or avian influenza and make a sustainable contribution to reducing the use of antibiotics in the animal husbandry industry. The topic of biosecurity also continues to gain importance due to the increasing populations and meat consumption, which in turn leads to a sustained growth in demand for disinfectants. 

LANXESS also offers disinfectants for human health: The product Rely+On Virkon is used in hospitals, laboratories, public institutions and for medical equipment. It is proven to completely inactivate the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in only 60 seconds. 

Oxone is used, for example, to clean pool water, thereby reducing  the use of chlorine. In the electronics industry, it is applied to prepare surfaces within the production process of printed circuit boards. Paper manufacturers use the product to effectively break down paper products containing wet strength resins during paper reprocessing. In addition, Oxone is a primary component of denture cleansers. Demand in these industries is growing, not least because regulatory requirements are becoming stricter and customers increasingly prefer chlorine-free oxidation solutions.