MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer MaterialScience, a Bayer Group company, said that it has decided to close its site in Darmstadt, Germany, as part of the worldwide consolidation of its business with sheets made of the high-performance plastic polycarbonate, said Rttnews.
The closure in Darmstadt affects 90 employees. The European customers will be supplied in the future by the plants in Nera Montoro, Italy, and Tielt, Belgium.
Bayer MaterialScience currently produces sheets at ten locations. The consolidation has also led to decisions in the Asia/Pacific region. The sheet business in Australia and New Zealand as well as the Laserlite brand name are being sold. In addition, sheet production in China was consolidated at the Guangzhou site; the Beijing site was closed.
According to the company, market development in the overall polycarbonate business has changed dramatically in recent years, with new competitors and overcapacities exacerbated by insufficient demand from the customer industries.
Based on results of review of its polycarbonate business model, the company said it decided that a consolidation of sheet activities in Europe was also necessary to ensure the long-term viability of the business as a whole and to remain competitive. Markus Steilemann, Head of the Polycarbonates Business Unit at Bayer MaterialScience, is optimistic about the future of the overall business.
Polycarbonate is used in the automotive industry, where it is increasingly displacing glass and metal. Vehicles are thus becoming lighter and consume less fuel. Polycarbonate sheets are the material of choice in the construction industry, in particular, where they are used for train station and airport roofs, carports and greenhouses.
We remind that, as MRC informed previously, Bayer MaterialScience has opened its first Polymer Development & Technology Center in South Korea, with a goal of developing new polycarbonate applications for Korean firms. Located in Yongin, near Seoul, the new center adds to Bayer's global network of research and development hubs, and is supported by its network of major production sites in the Asia Pacific region.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., BMS is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with approximately 14,800 employees at 30 production sites around the world. The company’s 2011 sales in North America were USD2.9 billion.
MRC