LANXESS not only opened its Kalama operations to high school interns, it also provided $75,000 to Career Connect Southwest, an Educational Service District 112 program, for its science, technology, engineering and math internships. The program has so far placed 32 students in 40-hour internships in several sectors, with 23 students still to be placed.
Zachert said it made the investment because it wants LANXESS’ employees’ children to get a good education.
“Education is the best investment you can do for the next generation,” he added. “Proper education — on values, on visions — is the best you can do for society, for mankind as a whole.
“If there’s one thing we like to invest in, it’s in children.”
LANXESS, a German company based in Cologne, bought Emerald Kalama Chemical for $1.04 billion in 2021. It employs 13,200 people in 33 different countries.
North and South America make up 32 percent of the company’s sales, which amounted to 6.1 billion euros, or $6.07 billion, in 2021. In its latest quarterly report, LANXESS reported strong growth, with second quarter sales up 36.1 percent to 1.999 billion euros, or $1.991 billion.