The Hague, February 4, 2026 – ARLANXEO, a global leader in performance elastomers, today inaugurated its new Therban® hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (“HNBR”) plant in Changzhou, China. The new plant supports expanding ARLANXEO’s HNBR production footprint and its ability to deliver reliable, high-quality elastomer solutions to customers across China and the Asia-Pacific region, while helping meet the growing demand for advanced rubber materials in strategic sectors, such as new energy, new mobility, and other industrial applications.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Dr. Faisal Mohammed Al Faqeer, ARLANXEO Shareholders’ Committee Chairman and Aramco Senior Vice President of In-Kingdom Liquids to Chemicals Development; Stephan van Santbrink, ARLANXEO CEO. The event also brought together representatives from ARLANXEO’s shareholders’ committee, global and China leadership teams, as well as customers, local authorities, partners, and community stakeholders.

“China is important in supporting Aramco’s downstream growth. ARLANXEO’s new Therban® HNBR plant is the most recent demonstration of Aramco’s downstream expansion strategy of portfolio diversification and integration, underscoring our confidence in China’s innovation and manufacturing strength. We look forward to deepening our cooperation and further contributing to China’s high-quality and sustainable growth,” commented Dr. Faisal Al Faqeer, ARLANXEO Shareholders’ Committee Chairman and Aramco Senior Vice President of In-Kingdom Liquids to Chemicals Development.

Stephan van Santbrink, ARLANXEO CEO, stated, “Today’s inauguration marks an important milestone for ARLANXEO and a strong demonstration of our long-term commitment to China. We sincerely thank the Changzhou government, Aramco, and all stakeholders for their trust and continued support. With the new HNBR plant now fully operational, we are further integrating our local production and R&D capabilities to strengthen the resilience of our global supply network. By delivering locally produced, high-quality rubber products, we will continue to collaborate with our customers and accelerate application innovation, creating greater economic and social value across our value chain.”

The new plant is a state-of-the-art facility with a design capacity of 5,000 tons per year, producing high-performance Therban® HNBR for demanding applications in automotive components, oil and gas systems, industrial equipment, aerospace, and next-generation battery technologies, where durability and reliability under extreme conditions are critical. 

Located within ARLANXEO’s Changzhou site, alongside its EPDM plant and Regional Technology Center (RTC), the new facility enhances the company’s innovation-to-production capabilities, unlocking greater downstream application potential across diversified industries. The first phase of the plant, with a production of 2,500 tons, was successfully commissioned in October 2025.

The plant also contributes to upholding ARLANXEO’s global standards for safety, efficiency, and sustainability. It features improving finishing technology that enhances production efficiency and product consistency, and it includes an advanced thermal oxidation system that helps optimize energy use and reduce carbon emissions in key process steps by around 80% compared to conventional finishing processes. 

Under the above-described closed-loop design for energy recovery and emission reduction, the facility operates without routine process wastewater discharge, aiming to lower the plant’s GHG emissions. 

From construction to full operation, the project maintained an outstanding safety record, completing start-up within 13 months and achieving over 1.1 million safe man-hours with no lost-time or recordable incidents over the plant construction.

With the Changzhou HNBR plant now serving as the hub for China and Asia, ARLANXEO operates an integrated global HNBR production network spanning the Americas (Orange, USA), Europe (Leverkusen, Germany), and Asia (Changzhou, China).

About ARLANXEO 
ARLANXEO is one of the world's largest synthetic rubber producers and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies. ARLANXEO develops, produces and markets high-performance rubbers with a presence at more than 10 production sites in eight countries and four innovation centers around the world. Its products are used in a wide range of applications ranging from the automotive and tire industries to the electrical, construction, and oil and gas industries. For more information, please visit www.arlanxeo.com. Follow us on LinkedIn. 
 
ARLANXEO in China 
Following the establishment of ARLANXEO in April 2016, ARLANXEO officially commenced operations in China on August 1, 2016. Headquartered in Changzhou, ARLANXEO has a staff of around 400 employees in China, with production facilities in Changzhou and Nantong, in addition to a sales and administration office in Shanghai. ARLANXEO is also a partner of a joint venture with TSRC Corporation located in Nantong. 
    
Forward-Looking Statements 
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by ARLANXEO management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
 

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