LANXESS's El Dorado, Union County, Arkansas bromine Central Plant — the original facility dating to the 1950s that began operations producing bromine and methyl bromide. Acquired via LANXESS's $2.1 billion purchase of Chemtura Corporation in April 2017 (the largest acquisition in LANXESS history). The El Dorado complex includes three separate plant sites: Central Plant (original operations), South Plant (152 employees), and West Plant (275 employees). This is LANXESS's largest US production site with 20+ production plants. Bromine is extracted from south Arkansas Smackover Formation brine at ~2 km depth. LANXESS subsequently invested $50M to upgrade brine exploration networks, pipelines, and site infrastructure. Chemtura had itself inherited the facility from Great Lakes Chemical Corporation, which pioneered Arkansas bromine extraction from the 1950s onward.

Lanxess Leverkusen Chemical Park →

North Rhine-Westphalia · chemical-plant

Lanxess HQ and primary phosphorus chemistry production including PCl3; spun off from Bayer in 2004.

What else they do

Business segments

The company's full revenue map, where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.

Advanced Intermediates
35%
Specialty Additives and Consumer Protection
30%
Engineering Materials
20%
Urethane Systems + Other
15%

Intelligence

What's known

Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains, chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.

Did you know2023
Lanxess produces phosphorus trichloride (PCl3) — the primary feedstock for glyphosate synthesis (used in the world's most widely applied herbicide) AND a CWC (Chemical Weapons Convention) Schedule 2 chemical because it is a precursor for organophosphate nerve agents. PCl3 is listed under Schedule 2 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (along with thiodiglycol, the mustard gas precursor) because it has legitimate industrial uses AND potential for weaponization in small diversion quantities. The OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) monitors PCl3 trade globally through export/import declaration requirements. Lanxess reports PCl3 trade to OPCW under CWC verification obligations. The same PCl3 molecule that makes the weed killer used in 130+ countries is monitored by the international chemical weapons disarmament organization. A Western specialty chemicals company's industrial output is simultaneously subject to trade monitoring by both commodity market regulators AND arms control inspectors.
Lanxess AG ↗
Incident2017
LANXESS's acquisition of Chemtura Corporation ($2.1 billion, completed April 21, 2017) was the largest acquisition in LANXESS history and gave it control of one of the original US bromine operations. The Chemtura El Dorado Arkansas facility traces its lineage through: Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (founded El Dorado 1955, pioneered Arkansas bromine) → acquired by Chemtura (2005 merger of Great Lakes and Crompton Corporation) → acquired by LANXESS (2017). Great Lakes Chemical was itself a pioneer in brominated flame retardants, developing many of the foundational TBBPA and DBDPE products used in electronics. The full consolidation lineage — from 1950s oil-country Arkansas brine well discovery → flame retardant specialist → specialty chemical conglomerate → German specialty chemical major — mirrors the broader globalization of the bromine industry: what began as a local Arkansas byproduct of oil drilling is now a strategic input for German, South Korean, and Taiwanese electronics manufacturing.
El Dorado News ↗

← Browse all goods