Saudi Aramco has taken another stride forward toward its strategic goal of becoming a world-class integrated energy and chemicals company with the launch of ARLANXEO, our 50-50 joint venture with German chemicals specialists LANXESS.
Based Maastricht, Netherlands-based ARLANXEO will significantly expand Saudi Aramco’s investment in our Downstream business and will specialize in world-class highly efficient synthetic rubber and elastomer products.
The name ARLANXEO is derived from the names of both partners in the joint venture, combining one syllable each of Saudi Aramco and LANXESS. The ending “EO” refers to the products and stands for elastomers.
Its shareholder committee is chaired by Matthias Zachert, chairman of the Board of Management of LANXESS AG and chairman of the Shareholders’ Committee of ARLANXEO, while Warren W. Wilder, vice president of Chemicals, Saudi Aramco, will be vice chairman. Michael Pontzen, chief financial officer at LANXESS, and Khalid H. Al Dabbagh, financial controller at Saudi Aramco, are the other two members of ARLANXEO’s Shareholders’ Committee.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Fahad M. AbdulKareem, president and CEO of Aramco Overseas Company, described ARLANXEO as an “exciting new entity.
“Not only do we bring to the table access to reliable feedstock supplies but also operational excellence, mega-project experience, and strong financial capabilities. From this perspective, we are partnering to drive growth. We will provide the resources to build additional scale and help fund the innovation pipeline necessary to remain a leader,” AbdulKareem said.
A big part of the new joint venture’s business will be the production of high-performance tires for the automotive industry. LANXESS already supplies many of the world’s largest tire and automotive parts manufacturing customers. The official launch of the new company helps enhance Saudi Aramco’s competitive position in the global market and further integrates our diverse portfolio across the hydrocarbon value chain.
Abdulrahman F. Al Wuhaib, Saudi Aramco senior vice president of Downstream, said ARLANXEO will offer several benefits to the company and to the Kingdom as it strives to diversify its economy.
“Through the joint venture, we are investing in a world-class synthetic rubber and elastomer products capability that already supplies many of the world’s tire and automotive parts manufacturing customers,” said Al Wuhaib.
“In addition to creating a new revenue stream for Saudi Aramco, the joint venture will spur economic growth and diversification opportunities for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region in high-volume sectors, such as tire and auto parts manufacturing, that are dependent on higher margin, value-added chemicals products.”
Saudi Aramco’s vice president of Chemicals, Warren W. Wilder, described the launch of ARLANXEO as another step forward toward Saudi Aramco becoming the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals company.
“It further diversifies our portfolio, strengthens our capability across the entire petroleum and chemicals value chain and enables us to unlock the full economic potential of the Kingdom’s hydrocarbon resources. It could also potentially be a catalyst for promoting the Kingdom’s economic diversification, helping to create high-skill, high-value manufacturing job opportunities.”
The new company starts up with about 3,800 employees and plans to quickly become a global brand name in the rubber industry.
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