September 17, 2020

Lanxess plans to expand capacity of disinfective active ingredient

Due to the continuous strong demand for disinfectants, Lanxess announced that it is planning to expand its production capacity for Oxone monopersulfate by about 50%. To this end, the company intends to invest a lower double-digit million euro sum in its production facility in Memphis, United States.

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 (ASF) as well as COVID-19. 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," says Matthias Zachert, chairman of the Lanxess board of management.

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 ASF 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 increasing animal populations and meat consumption, which in turn leads to a sustained growth in demand for disinfectants.