Overcapacity!

LANXESS has lifted the force majeure it declared last year due to technical problems involving certain polymer-based compounds, caprolactam and other materials supplied by plants in Germany and Belgium

LANXESS lifts European force majeure on caprolactam and PA6

It is understood that Lanxess told customers in a letter dated February 18 that the company had delisted nylon 6 copolymer-based compounds and film materials produced at its Krefeld-Uerdingen plant in Germany and at its Belgian plant.

"In our letter dated October 30, 2020 to December 22, 2020, we regret to have to inform you of our caprolactam plant in Antwerp and a reactor in Udingen," LANXESS said in the letter.

At the same time, it added that the caprolactam plants with an annual capacity of 220,000 tonnes in Antwerp and Udingen were both operating at "normal production levels"

LANXESS has warned customers of possible shortages due to constraints in raw materials and logistics

In the European nylon 6 market, the market has been tight since the fourth quarter of 2020 due to very healthy demand for automotive, film packaging and electrical and electronic components

Global production and sales of caprolactam grow steadily

Caprolactam is an important organic chemical raw material.

According to data recently released by China Chemical Information Weekly, in recent years, the world's caprolactam production capacity has grown steadily

Mainland China is currently the largest caprolactam producer in the world, with a production capacity of 4.

About 52% of the world's caprolactam consumption is used for PA6 fibers, 27% is used for PA engineering plastics and films, and 21% is used for other purposes

Five suggestions for future development

According to China Chemical Information Weekly, the following suggestions are put forward on the current situation of caprolactam:

1.

2.

With the release of new and expanded caprolactam production capacity, the contradiction of overcapacity will be further intensified, and the market competition will be more intense

3.

While expanding the existing caprolactam market, strengthen downstream product development, such as introducing alkyl, vinyl, methyl, acetyl, arylsulfonamidoethyl, tetraalkylammonium halide, butyl on the nitrogen atom of caprolactam It can realize rich and diverse functions in the fields of medicine, biology and chemical industry, improve the added value of caprolactam products, and realize the sustainable development of caprolactam industry

4.

5.
Suppress the dumping of similar foreign products in China, consolidate the anti-dumping results, and create a fair competition environment for domestic caprolactam; actively expand exports, resolve the contradiction of domestic overcapacity, and ensure the healthy and steady development of the caprolactam industry
.