German chemicals giant Bayer has been cleared to build a USD 110 million facility in Shanghai’s Chemical Industry Park to manufacture polyurethane coating raw materials. Polyurethane coating is widely used in car-finishing, plastics coating, and wood and furniture-finishing for anti-corrosion protection. Construction of the Bayer Coatings Systems Shanghai Co. facility is scheduled to begin in spring this year. It will be Bayer’s second wholly owned enterprise in China. The plant is due to come on stream in 2003, with an initial annual capacity of 11,500 tonnes. Bayer plans to increase the site’s annual production capacity to 20,000 tonnes in the medium term. Capital expenditure for the first phase of the project is expected to be about USD 50 million. The second phase involves building production facilities to complement a 30,000 tonnes-a-year polyurethane coating raw materials plant being built in Leverkusen, Germany. The Shanghai facilities, the completion date for which has not been set, will cost an additional USD 60 million.
