Bayer MaterialScience invests in technical center

LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY ‒ Bayer MaterialScience AG has unveiled its new premium foams technical center and commissioned a production plant for coating raw materials.

The new facilities have a combined cost of more than 45 million euros ($60.8 million).

Patrick Thomas, CEO of Bayer MaterialScience said: "This allows us to supply key industries more precisely and with higher volumes of exactly the products they need.

"The company is expanding its competence in developing new applications and manufacturing processes for its materials in close collaboration with customers."

Bayer MaterialScience has invested more than 10 million euros in the test center and the company expects the global polyurethane market to continue growing at an average annual rate of about 5 percent.

Bayer MaterialScience is expanding its production capacity for the precursors HDI (Hexamethylene diisocyanate) and IPDI (Isophorone diisocyanat) – both organic compounds in the isocyanates class that are used for polyurethane coatings.

The company has invested a year and a half and 35 million euros in the construction of the multipurpose plant in Leverkusen that can produce either of the raw materials depending on demand.