Increased production

The company already increased the capacity of its plants in 2004 by 60,000 tons in order to satisfy the large increase in demand for the product. Now, it says, a further 60,000 tons of capacity will come on stream by the end of 2005. And by then, Bayer’s global capacity for Makrolon is expected to be more than 1 million tons a year.

In addition, the company plans to speed up investment in a new $450 million Makrolon plant at its production site in Caojing, near Shanghai in China. Output of 200,000 tons a year, originally planned for 2009, is now expected sometime during 2007.

The 50-year old Makrolon plastic is used in the electrical engineering/electronics industry, construction sector, automotive industry and in the field of packaging and medical technology products. It is lightweight, impact resistant even at low temperatures, as transparent as glass and displays a high level of heat resistance.