Apr 19 2007
Bayer MaterialScience AG was awarded as "Global Innovation Leader" for the development of its high-tech polycarbonate, Makrolon®, by the Optical Media Global Industry Awards (OMGIA) in Mumbai, India, on April 18, 2007.
Dr. Günter Hilken, Member of the Executive Committee and Head of the Business Unit Polycarbonates of Bayer MaterialScience, received this award on behalf of the company from Mr. Deepak Puri, Managing Director, Moser Baer India Limited, representing the optical media industry and by Mr. Anil Chopra , President, OMGIA and Editor of ODS! magazine, one of the world’s leading magazines on the optical media manufacturing industry. Previous recipients of the award have included Shuji Nakamura for the invention of the blue laser diode.
Discovered more than 50 years ago, this engineering plastic - Makrolon® polycarbonate - has a wide range of applications, and over the years, has been the first choice for optical data carriers such as CDs and DVDs. From the beginning, many CD manufacturers opted for Makrolon® as the substrate.
For the laser to read the digital code of a CD properly, it is essential that the material used to make the disc is of the highest optical quality and transparency. In this regard, Makrolon® is the number-one choice material to meet all relevant requirements. Makrolon® CDs do not go out of shape and are unaffected by extreme temperature and humidity fluctuations.
The prestigious Global Innovation Leader Award honours this pioneering product for its contribution to the Optical Media Industry in India and worldwide. It is recognition of the fact that Bayer MaterialScience has made a great effort to continuously maintain and significantly enhance the efficacy of its product to ensure quality and availability to the industry.
"It is a great honor and gratification for Bayer to receive this award," comments Dr. Günter Hilken on the occasion of the ceremony. "Bayer has been an inventor company since it was founded and we intend to continue in this spirit of innovation also at Bayer MaterialScience. Our polycarbonate material Makrolon® and its versatile applications are just one expression of this commitment", he explains further.
As demand for Makrolon® continues to rise, Bayer MaterialScience is steadily increasing polycarbonate production around the world. At the end of 2006, the company had a production capacity of 1,200,000 tons of Makrolon® a year, making it the largest polycarbonate producer worldwide.
Additional international spending of around EUR 80 million is to be invested to build up a network in Asia in the next few years, allowing the company to offer excellent technical service locally and supply customers quickly and flexibly. The investments will be used, for example, to build additional compounding plants in China and India. In 2006, polycarbonates sales rose above all in the Asia-Pacific and Europe regions, contributing solidly to the positive sales performance of Bayer MaterialScience in the past year.