“VISIONWORKS” – MISSION STATEMENT FOR THE FUTURE
20 October 2004 - Bayer MaterialScience AG

“At K 2004, we will be showing exactly what we can do,” says Frank Bertram, head of Global Marketing, Product Management and Innovation in the Polyurethanes Business Unit and overall manager of the Bayer MaterialScience booth. Items on display will range from proven products and applications and a broad portfolio of service offerings to revolutionary ideas and visions for the future.

“We currently have around 2,000 projects in our innovation pipeline,” says Bertram. “This portfolio represents a sound basis for our future business success.” In addition, the company is set to focus in the next few years on expanding growth markets and improving efficiency.

With 2003 sales of EUR 7.5 billion and approximately 18,000 staff worldwide, Bayer MaterialScience is one of the mainstays of the Bayer Group. Every year, the company manufactures more than four million tons of polymers at 40 production sites around the globe. The portfolio is divided among the five Business Units: Polyurethanes, Polycarbonates, Coatings, Adhesives and Sealants, Thermoplastic Polyurethanes and Inorganic Basic Chemicals. These are joined by numerous subsidiaries and affiliates.

VisionWorks – The Central Theme for K 2004 and for the Future
“VisionWorks” is the new mission statement that shapes the entire trade fair concept of Bayer MaterialScience. It “translates” the name Bayer MaterialScience. “Material” stands for the materials the company develops, new products and new markets – material for visions. “Science” represents the knowledge Bayer MaterialScience works with, and the company’s decades of experience. Combined with a global network of ideas, it drives innovation and sustainable solutions – visions that become reality. “If you distill the essence of this, it gives you our mission: ‘VisionWorks’,” says Bertram.

Mirroring the Bayer MaterialScience portfolio, which consists of an exceptionally full innovation pipeline, first-class technologies and a wealth of promising growth products, the trade fair booth is divided into the three areas “Best Ideas,” “Best Services” and “Best Practices.”

Best Ideas – The Future on Our Radar Screen
The Best Ideas area is central to the booth of Bayer MaterialScience. This is where the New Business team will showcase the company’s innovative ideas and visions, some of which extend far beyond the current portfolio, and which will make an important contribution to future business success.

For example, a revolutionary sound system that eliminates the need for loudspeaker cabinets has been developed by polyurethane specialist Puren in close collaboration with Bayer MaterialScience and Siemens. The sound is generated by vibrating surfaces known as soundboards, which are made from rigid polyurethane foam and built into walls, ceilings or floors. Regardless of whether the purSonic® system is installed under wallpaper, tile or plaster, it always delivers superb sound quality.

In the quest to develop new, powerful and secure systems for mobile data carriers, Bayer MaterialScience has established the foundations for a holographic storage material. Coating a base material of Makrofol® ID polycarbonate film with a laser-writable special polymer creates a storage medium for saving data using holography. Although still visionary today, check card formats, memory sticks and even programmable keys with holographic film integrated for high-performance, secure information and data storage could soon become reality.

Smart Surface technology makes it possible for the first time to mold surface-luminescent plastic parts. The technology was developed in cooperation with the Swiss company Lumitec AG using materials from Bayer MaterialScience. Because the technology uses no bulbs or LEDs, the components are extremely durable and maintenance-free. The luminescent films are ideal for a large number of applications ranging from automobile interiors to illuminated interiors for ladies’ handbags.

In its efforts to develop innovative products, Bayer MaterialScience is also making increasing use of nanotechnology to manufacture materials whose properties have in some cases never been seen before. Dispercoll® S is an additive developed to give one-component, aqueous adhesives a high initial wet strength. This allows joined parts to be processed immediately after joining, leading to significant advances in productivity.

Best Services – Geared to Practical Needs and Close to the Customer
In the Best Services area, Bayer MaterialScience is showcasing its entire package of services that provide added value to customers. These include polyurethane systems houses, for example, which develop specific system solutions in close collaboration with customers. The Polyurethanes Business Unit is committed to expanding the global network of these systems houses. In key regions, Technical Service Centers are available where customers can optimize and test their manufacturing processes under production conditions.

The Thermoplastics Testing Center in Krefeld-Uerdingen, for example, is a modern service center whose team of experts is capable of performing more than 200 different plastics tests. Color Competence Centers worldwide provide support for customers coloring plastics based on various coloring techniques. More than 100 different colors and special effects are available under the Fantasia™ brand.

The Regional Service Centers, whose very name illustrates their proximity to customers, help manage entire orders from start to finish. Finally, strong co-branding partners of Bayer MaterialScience are making increasing use of the “Made of Makrolon®” seal of quality to label their products. As a result, this high-tech polycarbonate plastic has now become a globally recognized brand.

Best Practices – Tried-and-True Quality
The Best Practices area focuses on proven, and well-established products and applications. One example of this is the construction of the roof for the Olympic Stadium in Athens, which was fitted with solid plastic sheets made of the Makrolon polycarbonate from Bayer MaterialScience. The use of Makrolon polycarbonate for automotive glazing is reaching new dimensions, with this material being used both for the approximately one-square-meter large front section of the smart forfour's transparent panorama roof, and also the panoramic louvered roof of the new A Class from Mercedes-Benz. Large-format bodywork parts made of polyurethane integral skin foam, which enable considerable freedom in design and boast high mechanical properties, are also becoming very popular.

The new face of Audi design, initially unveiled in the latest Audi A6, includes a large, single-frame radiator grille that connects the upper grille to the lower one to form a single trapezoidal unit. This component was produced using Makroblend® PC/Polyester, which not only fulfills the demanding mechanical and thermal requirements, but also delivers an appealing Class A surface – a particularly important consideration in such an eye-catching design element.

New aromatic thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) in the Desmopan® line, which exhibit high transparency even with thick walls, are ideal for manufacturing sports equipment with special optical effects, among other things. Their high transparency offers many decorative and styling options. Optical data carriers such as CDs and DVDs made of Makrolon polycarbonate, raw materials for environmentally compatible aqueous coatings and rigid polyurethane foams for insulating refrigerators are further examples of field-tested applications from Bayer MaterialScience products.

http://www.bayermaterialscience.com

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