Bayer MaterialScience keeps up polycarbonate drive

8 December 2006 – Bayer MaterialScience, which took market leadership in polycarbonate this year, is continuing to back the product with the commitment of a further €80m investment package.

The company plans additional compounding plants to be built in China and India and will install a Color Competence Center at its compounding plant in Shanghai, strengthening its support to the fast growing market.

Southern China will be the location of the new compounding unit with a Color Competence Centre included with a start-up date of late 2008, says the maker of Makrolon polycarbonate, while the Indian facility will be located in New Delhi.

BMS now boasts polycarbonate capacity of 1.2 million tpa worldwide, having added 170,000tpa between 2004 and 2005 and brought 100,000tpa on stream at Shanghai recently.

Uerdingen, in Germany, is the company’s largest site at 330,000tpa, followed by Map Ta Phut in Thailand (270,000tpa), Baytown (260,000tpa) and Antwerp (240,000tpa).