Opening ceremony exposed complaints over Germany's attitudes to chemicals manufacture

Opening ceremony exposed complaints over Germany's attitudes to chemicals manufacture

Bayer’s new 200,000tpa plant for toluene diamine (TDA), an intermediate used to make polyurethane, was officially opened yesterday amid growing concern about Germany’s policies on chemical manufacture. The Dormagen plant near Cologne cost E200m and is the world’s largest TDA plant. Built in two years, the plant reinforces Bayer’s global leadership in the 9 million tonne polyurethanes business.

The ceremony exposed complaints over Germany’s attitudes to chemicals manufacture. Bayer chairman Werner Wenning hit out at plans to impose a new water supply surcharge in North Rhine Westphalia, which he said would cost Bayer a further E7m-E8m a year.

Wenning also criticised a motion proposed by the SPD/Green alliance that will go beyond the EC’s proposals on Reach. He said this was “diametrically opposed” to the joint approach agreed by the government, chemical industry association and trade unions. The motion “puts at risk the competitiveness of the entire industry in Germany”. The TDA plant will form part of Bayer Materials Science under the group’s planned reorganisation that will spin off chemicals and some polymer activities into a new entity.