"The United States is Crucial to Our Success"

Frederique van Baarle has been a Member of the Board of Management and Labor Director of LANXESS since April 1, 2023. She primarily carries out her duties from Pittsburgh, PA, USA. In this interview, she explains how she sees the situation and the future of LANXESS.

Mrs. van Baarle, you were recently in Cologne and took part in the innovation workshop. As a Board Member, this Stream is assigned to you. Was the trip worth it for you?
Absolutely! It was a very inspiring day for me. All of the employees from all over the world who gathered there are extremely passionate about innovation. That feeling was infectious and the event was full of energy. As far as what we discussed, it became abundantly clear that we already have a number of outstanding product developments and interesting approaches to research at LANXESS. But we definitely need more of them to secure our long-term growth. During the workshop, we had a lively and heated discussion about how we can create the best possible structures for this. The day once again showed me how useful and enriching it is when teams from different areas and with different backgrounds work together on such challenges.

So what’s next?
Now the focus is on consolidating the results and forming teams to implement them starting in the summer. We obviously have the clear goal of generating growth through our innovations as quickly as possible and significantly increasing EBITDA. It is also clear that innovations are helping make our world cleaner and enable people to live healthier and more sustainable lives, however. In this context, chemicals play a key role. This vision should spur us all on to work intensively on innovations.

Let’s move on to your work on the Board of Management, which you primarily carry out from the United States. This has never been done before in the history of LANXESS. What are the benefits?
I now have the unique opportunity to bring different perspectives to the discussions on the Board of Management and across the group. I experience the American way of life here every day. This gives me different insights into the way Americans think and act and perhaps also a deeper understanding of the market and consumer decisions. In addition, I’m now also a member of the board of the American Chemical Council, which is the trade association of the American chemical industry. I also gain a lot of insights through this work and understand certain regulatory decisions. All of this means that I can bring other aspects into the discussion on some topics.  

Generally speaking, how important is the US chemicals market compared to China’s? China is in the midst of a profound economic crisis.
China is still number one on the chemicals market in terms of sales and production volume. But for us as a German company, the USA has many advantages as a production location. It is no coincidence that we have significantly strengthened our presence here through the acquisition of Chemtura, Emerald Kalama, and the microbial control business of IFF.

Are we pinning all of our hopes on the USA?
I have lived and worked in a number of different countries over the course of my career. In the process, I’ve come to realize that the United States offers enormous advantages for companies: a reliable energy supply, raw materials, secure transportation solutions, and a skilled workforce. All of this together makes the USA very attractive. On top of this, we can benefit from the US government’s large-scale subsidy programs. I believe that the future success of our company will largely depend on our performance in the United States. This is another reason why it makes sense for us to send a clear message with my presence here and to do more to promote the interests of the chemical industry in the political sphere.

How do you assess LANXESS’s growth opportunities in the USA?
In general quite good. We have already significantly increased the share of total LANXESS revenue generated here in recent years. The Americas region grew from roughly 20 percent to 35 percent. And we want to continue to grow organically.

The LAB, PLA, and RCH business units, which you are responsible for, had to overcome a number of challenges last year...
It’s no secret that we’re currently going through tough times. But we’re now also seeing initial signs that we can be cautiously optimistic. The BUs that are now particularly affected by the crisis were often the ones in the past that compensated for others with their strong performance. This kind of thing is constantly fluctuating. Crises like this demonstrate how important it is to diversify our company. Just like our approach to entering new markets and seizing new opportunities. In this way, every business unit and every region can do their part to lead us out of the current downturn.

How will the US elections in November affect our business? What would a change of government mean for LANXESS?
We expect the situation in the US to remain stable, regardless of who wins the election. This is because the system of checks and balances, i.e., the separation of powers, is a well-established part of US history. As long as the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court exercise their respective powers in accordance with the law, we see no immediate danger. Having said that, we are still preparing for a possible change.

What exactly are you doing?
If, after the election, domestic products are given special protection through potential tariffs and imports are put at an extreme disadvantage, this would, of course, also have an impact on us. For this scenario, we are currently examining how much we import from Europe and China into the USA and developing strategies for how we would respond to such a change in underlying conditions.

What would a change of government mean for the subsidies we’ve applied for?
We expect that once funds have been promised, they will continue to be available under a different government. We are also currently trying to secure as much public funding and as many subsidies as possible before the election. We are very pleased to have recently received the approval notices for two applications for tax credits. Now we’re waiting to hear back on two applications for e-mobility funding, which we expect to receive in August. These positive responses have shown me once again that we can do anything if we put our minds to it. After all, submitting such applications successfully isn’t as easy as it sounds.

The lithium project in El Dorado is also a research project. How are things progressing there?
In February, I had the opportunity to meet the Governor of Arkansas in person. Sarah Huckabee-Sanders is interested in securing and expanding Arkansas’ position in the global lithium market. The conversation with her was extremely constructive. It’s good that we have politicians behind us. Now we have to see how the project develops.

You are also the group’s Labor Director. What do you currently see as your primary task in this position?
We are currently going through major changes across the group. Our employees have questions and concerns. We are taking them very seriously. But the sometimes painful changes we’ve had to make were unavoidable. At the same time, I’m convinced that our employees will recognize the opportunities offered by a stronger and better positioned LANXESS. We are now shaping the future of our company together. This also includes successfully completing the integration of new employees.

Where do you see LANXESS in ten years’ time?

We must always be able to respond intelligently to regulatory and economic changes. We also need to recognize technological disruptions or innovations that are changing society, such as those resulting from the increased use of artificial intelligence, early on and incorporate them into our decision-making processes. We will achieve all of this together. Because across many areas of the group – for example when it comes to subsidy applications – I can see that if we really want something, we can achieve it. In this context, I have complete faith in the people at LANXESS, in our hard-working, committed employees. They are the backbone of the company – and also its future.

Curriculum Vitae
Frederique van Baarle was born in 1971 in Geleen, the Netherlands. She is married and has four children.
 

Professional Experience

After completing her degree program, she held various management positions at Royal DSM from 2000.

She joined LANXESS in 2011 and took on the position of Head of Global Marketing and Supply Chain for EPDM rubber.

From 2013 to 2018, she headed the Engineering Plastics business line for the EMEA region.

From December 2018 to May 2020, she was responsible for the Global Procurement and Logistics Group Function.

She took over as Head of the High Performance Materials business unit in June 2020.

Service on the Board of Management

Frederique van Baarle has been a member of the Board of Management and Labor Director since April 1, 2023.

She is responsible for the Lubricant Additives Business, Polymer Additives, and Rhein Chemie business units. She is also responsible for the Americas region.

Within the Business Excellence initiative, she is responsible for the Innovation Stream.

She carries out her work from Pittsburgh. Her contract runs until March 31, 2026.