Dr Tony Van Osselaer, Member of Executive Board, Bayer MaterialScience. (C) Bayer Photos.
The company has planned to increase annual capacity of plant in Germany to 400,000 ton. The capacity addition will take place at its Uerdingen plant, in stepped expansion with an investment of € 90 million.
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY: Bayer MaterialScience will expand production of polycarbonate at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site in Germany through an investment of about € 90 million. The plant’s current annual capacity will gradually reach 400,000 ton over the next four years in stepped increases. The current capacity is 330,000 ton per year.
The global demand for polycarbonate has increased, with the strongest growth in Asia/Pacific, particularly in China. There is also increased demand in Europe where the material’s versatility and other properties make it an ideal material for a variety of applications. For Europe, expectations are for an average growth of five per cent, the company informed. Another reason for the strong growth in Europe is the increasing demand for technology driven products such as in the electronic entertainment industry, furniture and medical applications.
“To cope with this increased demand we need a competitive, world-scale manufacturing plant - and this is exactly what we will achieve with the expansion at Uerdingen. With the state-of-the-art technologies, we will optimize the process. The plant will become less complex, reliable and considerably energy efficient,” said Dr Tony Van Osselaer, Member of Executive Board, Bayer MaterialScience.
In addition to the polycarbonate expansion at the site, Bayer MaterialScience is also currently rebuilding chlorine production facilities to increase energy efficiency.
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