Trinseo Celebrates 80th Anniversary of Synthetic Rubber Production

Company’s Schkopau, Germany site delivers innovative and consistent quality to tire manufacturer customers

Trinseo Synthetic Rubber improves wet grip handling in high performance tires. (Photo: Business Wire)

HORGEN, Switzerland--()--Trinseo (NYSE: TSE), the global materials solution provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, today is celebrating 80 years of synthetic rubber production in Schkopau, Germany close to its production site, which pioneered the commercialization of synthetic rubber and fostered its growth on an international scale.

Trinseo’s event for Schkopau employees, local partners (including associations and institutes) as well as government officials today is to thank all of the employees and local stakeholders who have made and continue to make the plant successful. The Company is also looking ahead to exciting projects that will ensure this plant remains in the vanguard of innovation for years to come.

During a series of additional events throughout this jubilee year, Trinseo will look back at some of the milestones achieved at Schkopau and will also celebrate this anniversary with its customers and partners in the future.

Celebrating ‘WIR’

The theme of the celebrations is ‘WIR’, which is German for ‘we’ or ‘us’. It captures the essence of the real team spirit at Schkopau, where employees have dedicated their careers to synthetic rubber research and manufacturing.

Most of Trinseo’s production goes to the tire industry and we have adopted some of their attributes: speed, innovation, team spirit, reliability and being forward-looking. This makes our teams innovative and dynamic, and they focus on speed of delivering continuously high-quality products.

The site underwent several periods of change during its history, such as name changes, changes of ownership and the expansion of the plant. The location of the site in Schkopau however, along with the expertise of the team, remains unbroken for the last 80 years.

From pioneer to innovator through team spirit

“At Schkopau we have a unique team with a proven long-standing commitment and dedication to customers – this spirit is a key to our success,” said Ralf Irmert, Managing Director Trinseo Deutschland GmbH. “The growth witnessed at the site is phenomenal, as is our team spirit with close integration of operations, maintenance, technical service and development, supply chain management, research and development and the tech center. This offers us more flexibility and a quicker response time to meet customer demands.”

The upcoming S-SBR pilot plant, which begins operations in fourth quarter 2017, will shorten the time between development and industrialization. It allows Trinseo to be more efficient and flexible in developing high quality performance materials, and supports the Company in meeting increasing capacity demands. Innovations like this are only possible due to the strength of the teams on-site at Schkopau.

Further capacity expansions for Solution-Styrene Butadiene Rubber, coming in 2018, will add 50 KT of S-SBR capacity to the Schkopau site, increasing the company’s global S-SBR production by 33 percent. This is a direct response to customer demands and sustainability trends.

“The last 80 years has transformed Schkopau into the unique offering we have for the Synthetic Rubber industry, with a site that is able to deliver innovative and consistent quality. We have best in class, integrated assets and a strong knowledge base, which enable us to respond to industrial requirements and customers’ needs,” said Samer Al Jabi, Global Business Director Synthetic Rubber. “Through this transformation, two things remain constant: our ties to the Schkopau plant and our team’s focus on our customers. The Schkopau plant has a bright future.”

Strong local ties

The Trinseo plant in Schkopau employs over 500 people and forms an important enterprise in the Saxony-Anhalt region. Not only does the site support local economy, it is one of the leading companies in the region with its strong focus on research and innovation. Out of all the Trinseo employees based in Schkopau, approximately 15 percent work in or for Research & Development.

Trinseo is committed to maintaining this strong local presence in the region and offers a high-quality apprenticeship program to young professionals who want to explore a career in the chemical industry in addition to working- with the local universities in joint projects.

Dr. Reiner Haseloff, Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt confirms the importance of Trinseo’s Schkopau plant for the region: “With several hundred jobs, Trinseo is an important employer in our federal state. I’m therefore glad Trinseo is expanding the synthetic rubber production here. This also applies to the commitment of Trinseo in the field of research and development, which is even more important in a region, where in-house R&D is still a novelty."

About Trinseo

Trinseo (NYSE:TSE) is a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber. We are focused on delivering innovative and sustainable solutions to help our customers create products that touch lives every day — products that are intrinsic to how we live our lives — across a wide range of end-markets, including automotive, consumer electronics, appliances, medical devices, lighting, electrical, carpet, paper and board, building and construction, and tires. Trinseo had approximately $3.7 billion in net sales in 2016, with 15 manufacturing sites around the world, and nearly 2,200 employees. For more information visit www.trinseo.com.

Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, without limitation, forecasts of growth, revenues, business activity, acquisitions, financings and other matters that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results expressed or implied by this press release. As a result of the foregoing considerations, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts

For editorial information:
Trinseo
Mandy Markert
+ 41 44 718 3635
mmmarkert@trinseo.com
or
For editorial information:
Porter Novelli
Jeroen Gaudissabois
+32 (0)2 235 01 46
jeroen.gaudissabois@porternovelli.be

Release Summary

Trinseo celebrates 80 years of synthetic rubber production in Germany, pioneering technology for high performance tires.

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Contacts

For editorial information:
Trinseo
Mandy Markert
+ 41 44 718 3635
mmmarkert@trinseo.com
or
For editorial information:
Porter Novelli
Jeroen Gaudissabois
+32 (0)2 235 01 46
jeroen.gaudissabois@porternovelli.be