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BAYER MATERIALSCIENCE LLC TO FOCUS ON HIGH-TECH PRODUCTS WITH COMPLEX TECHNOLOGIES AND PRODUCTION PROCESSES
Bayer Polymers LLC will begin operations under its new Bayer MaterialScience name on July 1. In November 2003, Bayer announced that its business activities will be grouped into three areas: Bayer MaterialScience (polyurethanes, polycarbonates, coating raw materials, H.C. Starck and Wolff Walsrode); Bayer HealthCare (pharmaceutical, consumer care, diagnostics, biological and animal health products); and Bayer CropScience (herbicides, fungicides and seed treatment products). The corporation also announced it would combine its Bayer Chemicals businesses - with the exception of H.C. Starck and Wolff Walsrode - and about one-third of its polymers business into a new company called Lanxess Corporation. Bayer AG aims to list Lanxess on the stock market by early 2005 either through a sale of Lanxess shares or the spin-off of Lanxess shares to Bayer AG stockholders. Bayer MaterialScience will concentrate on strong growth markets where Bayer already holds solid positions. These include the automotive, comfort, engineering thermoplastics, insulation and raw materials for coatings markets. The company will build on Bayer's strength in polyurethanes and polycarbonate technology. A Global Leader In Key Growth Markets Bayer is the world's largest producer of aromatic isocyanates and polyether polyols. These are the chemical raw materials that produce polyurethane foams used in everyday items like furniture, mattresses, automotive components, appliances, sports equipment, insulation and shoe soles. Bayer also is the global leader in polyurethane coating raw materials used in long-lasting weatherable paints, coatings, sealants and adhesives. These products are used in automobile interiors and exteriors, construction, furniture, packaging, footwear and sports equipment. The corporation is also a global leader in polycarbonate, the versatile plastic used to produce CDs and DVDs, impact-resistant sheet for construction and displays, and in water bottles. Polycarbonate injection molding applications include automotive lighting, eyeglass lenses, food containers, lawn and garden equipment, and medical devices. H.C. Starck And Wolff Walsrode Under Bayer MaterialScience Umbrella H.C. Starck and Wolff Walsrode, the two separate specialist companies formerly with Bayer Chemicals, hold strong positions in niche markets. H.C. Starck produces metal and ceramic powders, nonferrous metals and intermediate chemicals for advanced ceramics. Its products are used in automobile airbag inflation systems, hard metal drills and cutting devices, the Hubble telescope, thinner and lighter eyeglasses and in cell phones and other electronic equipment. Wolff Walsrode specializes in the chemistry of cellulose, a renewable raw material. Its products are used in building materials, printing inks, surface coatings and personal care products. A Look Ahead: Strong And Sustainable Growth 'Bayer MaterialScience is poised for long-term, sustainable growth,' said Ian Paterson, Bayer Polymers LLC president and chief executive officer and head of Bayer Polymers' Americas Region. He will be succeeded as head of the new Bayer MaterialScience by Gregory S. Babe, currently president, CEO and chief information officer of Bayer Corporate and Business Services LLC. Paterson is a member of the Board of Management for Bayer MaterialScience. 'We plan to expand our global market growth, with particular emphasis on the exceptional economic growth in China,' Paterson said. 'Over the next decade, we want to more than double our sales in China,' he said. 'To that end, we broke ground on a 370 million euro polycarbonate production plant in Caojing, China, scheduled for operation in 2006. In addition, we began production of coating materials at the Caojing site in April of last year. Other coating materials plants are either under construction there or in the planning stage,' Paterson said. Paterson added that attractive opportunities for Bayer MaterialScience growth from new applications include automotive window glazing, intelligent materials like self-healing paints, luminescent films and self-cleaning plastics. http://www.bayermaterialscience.com
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