Bayer MaterialScience will invest $120 million into its Baytown, TX manufacturing facility, its largest plant in the United States.
“Our Baytown plant is a critical asset in the Bayer MaterialScience global portfolio,” said Dr. Tony Van Osselaer, member of the Executive Committee of Bayer MaterialScience and head of Industrial Operations. “It is a first-rate manufacturing facility and these significant investments are our commitment to keeping it fit for the future.”
The planned $120-million investment includes environmental upgrades, reliability improvements, minor debottlenecking, and improved process technology at the plastics materials manufacturing facility.
Additional investments are designed to improve the reliability of the infrastructure throughout the site.
“These comprehensive upgrades will support the growth we are anticipating in the NAFTA region,” said Greg Babe, president and CEO of Bayer Corporation and Bayer MaterialScience LLC.
Commenting on the investments, Rod Herrick, Baytown general plant manager, said, “Reliability and safety are our priorities. A safe plant is a more reliable plant. In 2010, Bayer MaterialScience Baytown employees achieved their safest record in the 40-year history of the plant. These investments are a tribute to them as well as to the ongoing performance of the site.”
The Baytown facility makes versatile chemicals used to produce polyurethanes used in flexible foam for the furniture and automotive industries; rigid and spray foams for insulation in the construction industry; and coatings, adhesives, and sealants.
