Bayer MaterialScience expands MDI production capacity in Tarragona to 150,000 tons a year

Location is key component of global production network

Tuesday - December 12, 2006 - Leverkusen – Bayer MaterialScience AG has now completed the expansion of its production facilities for methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) in Tarragona, Spain by 50,000 tons a year to an annual capacity of 150,000 tons. As a result, the company has a global production capacity of almost 1.1 million tons per year. Plant capacity at Tarragona for the intermediates carbon monoxide (CO) and methylene diphenyl diamine (MDA) has also been expanded.

“This expansion is our response to the growing demand for MDI in Eastern and Western Europe and the Middle East,” says Peter Vanacker, head of the Polyurethanes Business Unit at Bayer MaterialScience. “We are thereby underlining our leading position in the polyurethane industry and are now in a position to provide even better service and support for our customers as they continue to grow. Furthermore, as a key location in our global production network, Tarragona will continue to supply customers in other regions as well.”

MDI production facilities in Krefeld-Uerdingen (Germany) were also expanded in summer 2006 by 36,000 tons to a capacity of 200,000 tons a year. At its integrated Shanghai site, Bayer MaterialScience is currently building world-scale production facilities capable of producing 350,000 tons of MDI each year. The facilities are to start operating in 2008 and will mainly supply customers in the Asia-Pacific region. A splitter used to extract monomeric and polymeric MDI from crude MDI that has a plant capacity of 80,000 tons a year went into operation there in June 2006. Bayer MaterialScience also operates production facilities for MDI in Brunsbüttel (Germany), Baytown and New Martinsville (both United States), Belford Roxo (Brazil) and Niihama (Japan).

With sales of EUR 10.7 billion in 2005, Bayer MaterialScience AG is one of the world’s largest polymer manufacturers. Its main fields of activity are the production of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of everyday life. The main consumer sectors are the automotive, electrical/electronics, construction, sports and leisure industries. Bayer MaterialScience has production facilities at 40 sites around the world and a workforce of approx. 18,800. Bayer MaterialScience is part of the Bayer Group.


Information for editors:
More news and information about products, applications and services of Bayer MaterialScience can be found at www.bayerbms.com. Data and facts about the company itself can be found at www.facts.bayerbms.com.

Hotline for readers’ inquiries:
Fax: +49 221 9902 160

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in our public reports filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including our Form 20-F). The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Contact Information

Ulrich Knümann

International Communications

Bayer MaterialScience AG

Contact via E-mail