German specialty chemicals group Lanxess said Thursday it was aiming to achieve sales of over Eur1 billion ($1.3 billion) in China in 2012.
Its sales in China have grown rapidly over the past five years, reaching Eur800 million in 2010, accounting for 11% of the company's overall turnover.
"Greater China will continue to be a cornerstone of our fast-growing Asian business," said chairman Axel Heitmann in a statement.
"Our technology-driven products, which enable sustainable mobility, will play a major part in achieving this sales target," he added.
Lanxess is one of the world's major suppliers of synthetic rubber, including high-performance rubbers used in "green tires", the market for which is currently increasing by around 10% a year, making it the fastest growing segment in the global tire industry, the company said.
China's car market has been expanding rapidly, driven largely by the country's robust economic growth. This, combined with the Chinese authorities' effort to curb the environmental impact of growing traffic volumes, has bolstered demand for green tires, it added.
"With our high-performance rubbers for 'Green Tires', we are helping vehicles in China consume less fuel and therefore be more eco-friendly," Heitmann said.
Lanxess is also a key supplier of neodymium polybutadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) and solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) to the global market.
"Green tires can reach their peak performance with formulations containing both SSBR and Nd-PBR," which mainly help reduce the rolling resistance and improve grip of a tire, Lanxess said.
