Oct 31 2007
Bayer MaterialScience inaugurated its first integrated systems house in Thailand today to bring tailor-made polyurethane solutions closer to customers in Southeast Asia.
BaySystems ASEAN, located at the Bangpoo Industrial Estate, Samutprakarn province, caters to the region’s growing demand for customized polyurethane systems in many sectors such as appliance, construction, automotive, and the furniture sectors.
“Our global BaySystems network allows us to bring the latest polyurethane innovations and applications quickly to our customers around the world. Within this network we have the experience to support local, but also multinational companies that are aiming to develop oversea markets. Together with our customers we aim to increase awareness in the market and to further promote the use of polyurethane materials in a wide variety of applications”, said Peter Vanacker, head of the Global Polyurethanes Business Unit and member of the Executive Committee of Bayer MaterialScience.
BaySystems ASEAN offers customized polyurethane systems based on proven global systems technology. They include Baytherm® used for appliances, Baymer® for construction, and Baydur® popularly used by furniture and home furnishing manufacturers as a wood substitution. It also offers complete BaySystems automotive solutions such as Baynat® and Baysafe® for both interior and exterior applications.
With these global systems brands and with a global network of R&D and technical centres in Europe, North and South America as well as in China and Japan as background, BaySystems ASEAN is well positioned to better serve multinational companies with manufacturing operations in Southeast Asia, such as Korean or Japanese companies.
Dr Azita Owlia, Head of Regional Marketing, Polyurethanes Marketing Asia Pacific, Bayer MaterialScience, said “BaySystems ASEAN will effectively cater to the rising demand for polyurethanes in the ASEAN region, which grows at approximately 5 percent a year, of which Thailand is a key market. With the new systems house we are well positioned to capture this growth, and support our customers in their growth.” In Thailand alone, the size of the polyurethane market is expected to reach 90,000 metric tons by 2010, up from the current amount of 76,000 metric tons. Thailand accounts for more than 50 percent of the total systems business in the ASEAN region.
The systems house operates a laboratory at the Bangpoo site to support customers in several application requirements. The lab handles testing of end applications and fine tuning of polyurethane systems to meet OEM requirements.
BaySystems ASEAN, which also serves Australia and New Zealand, is the latest addition to Bayer MaterialScience’s growing network of systems houses in Asia Pacific, with systems houses already operating in China, India, Japan, and Taiwan.