Bayer MaterialScience is to invest €20m (£19m) in an aromatic and aliphatic polyisocyanate manufacturing facility in India as part of its strategy to grow its polyurethane raw materials business in the country.
The new plant in Ankleshwar, in the north-western state of Gujurat, is scheduled to start operating in 2011.
The facility will produce Desmodur polyisocyanates: raw materials for the formulation of a variety of polyurethane coatings, adhesives and sealants.
Specifically, these will be Desmodur L, which is used for the coating of wood and furniture as well as for the formulation of adhesives for flexible packaging, and Desmodur N, used in the automotive, industrial and plastic-coating industries.
Bayer MaterialScience also has a polyurethane systems house in India - its first in the country - which was opened in Greater Noida, near New Delhi, in mid-2007.
With 2008 sales of €9.7bn, the company is among the world’s largest polymer companies.
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