Bayer MaterialScience to invest €110 mln in five new PC downstream facilities in China

22-Nov-10

As part of its ongoing process to serve the booming manufacturing sector in China, Bayer MaterialScience plans to invest €110 mln to build five new downstream facilities in China by 2012. The facilities comprise three polyurethanes systems houses, a new polycarbonate sheet facility and a polycarbonate color compounding and design center. Each will be strategically located close to major customers in Shanghai, Qingdao, Chongqing and Guangzhou. "Manufacturing activity is no longer limited to the east and south of China," explained Peter Vanacker, member of the Bayer MaterialScience Executive Committee and head of the global polyurethanes business. "Many of our customers are opening facilities in the northern and central parts of the country have asked that we continue to support them with customized solutions in these growing industrial regions. We believe it makes good business and economic sense to invest close to them." Over 40% of Bayer MaterialScience polyurethanes business in China is currently achieved through supplying polyurethane systems to the construction, appliance and automotive sectors, in particular. The three new polyurethanes systems houses are to be built in Shanghai, Qingdao and Chongqing. The company intends to build the new color compounding and design center in Chongqing, while the sheet facility is planned in Guangzhou. Asia-Pacific currently accounts for over 60% of the world's polycarbonate production, expected to rise to 65% by 2015. China accounts for the majority of this demand, and is regarded as the main driver for this growth in view of the increasing importance of the domestic automotive, rail, consumer appliance and electronic industries.