As part of an overall EUR 45m investment, Bayer MaterialScience (BMS, Leverkusen / Germany; www.bayerbms.com) has inaugurated a new EUR 10m technical centre for polyurethane foams at its Leverkusen headquarters. BMS said the facility is equipped with the latest machinery, which enables high efficiency and productivity in product development to meet expected medium- to long-term growth of 5% in the global PU market.

The larger part of the investment is a EUR 35m plant for PU-based coatings and adhesive raw materials, also at Leverkusen. Patrick Thomas, CEO of BMS, said the investments illustrate the company’s adherence to its market-oriented investment policy. “This, he said, “allows us to supply key industries more precisely and with higher volumes of exactly the products they need.”

To meet rising demand for PU coating and adhesive raw materials, which Thomas said will likely increase by an average of 4% annually, the Bayer sub-group is expanding production capacity for precursors HDI and IPDI. The newly commissioned multipurpose plant can produce either of the raw materials depending on demand. The process is described as “very environmentally compatible and highly efficient.”