Lanxess Corp. plans to open a research and technology center at or near its Findlay headquarters by the end of the year and add about 25 jobs, Chief Executive Randall Dearth said Tuesday. Some jobs will be relocated from other company sites, Dearth said yesterday while discussing a third phase of Lanxess’ restructuring to cut costs and achieve profitability. Lanxess Corp. is the U.S. unit of Lanxess AG of Germany, established in July 2004 when Bayer AG spun off its chemical and polymers businesses. Lanxess AG yesterday reported a 2005 net loss of $77.2 million, compared to a net loss of $14.7 million in 2004. Sales were $8.8 billion in 2005, compared to $8.3 billion in 2004. Dearth said Lanxess also is relocating four marketing and sales jobs from its 410-person Findlay headquarters to the Cincinnati suburb of Addyston. “That will have little effect on Pittsburgh,” he said. Lanxess opened Monday a new iron-oxide pigment-blending operation in Burgettstown, Washington County. The facility is larger than the one it had used in Imperial, said Dearth. The 25 jobs at the plant were transferred to the new site. Lanxess is projecting that the third phase of its restructuring will save $61.2 million annually by 2009. During its restructuring, worldwide employment has declined from 19,659 in 2004 to 18,282 last year. Lanxess also is eliminating 80 positions at Addyston and 250 outside Europe, said spokeswoman Terri Fitzpatrick. Lanxess is consolidating its styrenic resins operations at Addyston, in conjunction with the closing of a money-losing Brazilian facility. “We’re looking at ways across the globe that we can remove underutilized assets. We’ve divested two businesses over the last few months,” Dearth said, referring to a fibers business sold to a Japanese firm. Production sites are in Germany and Bushy Park, S.C. The company also has completed the sale of its paper-business unit to a Finnish chemicals group. Dearth said. Some of the marketing people connected with that business remain at the Findlay headquarters, he said.

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