Bayer MaterialScience invest US$120 mln in Baytown for MDi, TDI, Polycarbonate

17-May-11

Bayer MaterialScience is set to invest some US$120 mln into its Baytown site, in Texas. Baytown, which celebrates 40 years of manufacturing success this year, is the company’s largest manufacturing facility in the United States and is a keystone of Bayer MaterialScience’s global manufacturing strategy. "Our Baytown plant is a critical asset in the Bayer MaterialScience global portfolio," said Dr Tony Van Osselaer, member of the Executive Committee of Bayer MaterialScience and head of Industrial Operations. "It is a first-rate manufacturing facility and these significant investments are our commitment to keeping it fit for the future." The planned US$ 120 million investment includes: - Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) – environmental upgrades, reliability improvements and minor debottlenecking. - Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) – improved process technology, environmental upgrades, and energy efficiency and reliability improvements that will increase productivity. - Polycarbonate – reliability upgrades and quality improvements for advanced optical applications. Additional investments are designed to improve the reliability of the infrastructure throughout the site. "These comprehensive upgrades will support the growth we are anticipating in the NAFTA region," said Greg Babe, president and CEO of Bayer Corporation and Bayer MaterialScience LLC.