Bayer MaterialScience takes over Czech polyurethane systems house Brahe
Bayer MaterialScience is extending its global network of polyurethane systems houses even further. The company has now signed the contract for the acquisition of the Brahe a.s. systems house in the Czech Republic, which is to be integrated into the BaySystems network under the name BaySystems CentralEurope. Brahe a.s. previously belonged to the T.P. Holding a.s. group of companies based in Prague, which has been a Bayer partner since the 1960s. Financial details of the transaction have not been released. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2007. The company opened its new systems house site in Cerekvice in East Bohemia, close to the Polish border, in mid 2006. Its operations focus primarily on rigid polyurethane foam applications for the insulation of refrigerating appliances and water heaters. Roman Sebek will continue to be in charge of business at BaySystems CentralEurope.
“This acquisition is part of our response to the increasing importance of growth markets in central and eastern Europe,” explains Peter Vanacker, head of the Polyurethanes Business Unit and member of the Executive Committee of Bayer MaterialScience. “BaySystems CentralEurope will play a key role in the BaySystems Network in this region. Besides further developing relationships with Czech customers, we believe there are great opportunities on the markets of Poland, the Slovak Republic and Hungary, even for polyurethane applications that Brahe has never before been involved in.”
“The customers served by this systems house will now be able to benefit from the high and consistent quality standard of our global BaySystems network,” remarks Dr. Joachim Dohm, head of BaySystems Integration at Bayer MaterialScience. “Moreover, they will also profit from the rapid and flexible technology transfer that operates within the network and from there direct to the polyurethane processor.”
Bayer MaterialScience’s polyurethane systems houses offer customer-specific product portfolios in their particular regions. By working closely with customers they can also accelerate the market launch of polyurethane innovations.
Bayer MaterialScience’s network of systems houses in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region (EMEA) also includes BaySystems BÜFA GmbH & Co. KG, which largely takes care of the German market, BaySystems Northern Europe A/S for Scandinavia, the Baltic countries, and the northern part of Eastern Europe, BaySystems Italia S.p.A. for Italy, BaySystems Iberia for the Iberian peninsula, BaySystems Pearl for the Middle East, and the systems house in Nigel for southern Africa.