Bayer MaterialScience Warns of Cuts

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013


One of the world’s oldest and largest producers of raw materials for coatings and construction is facing a product oversupply and rising costs that have it considering cutbacks.

Bayer MaterialScience AG, an independent business within 150-year-old Bayer AG, is being squeezed between excessive capacity and expenses, Chief Executive Marijn Dekkers told reporters at a dinner Monday night (Sept. 16) at the company's headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany.

Marijn Dekkers
Photos: Bayer MaterialScience
"Our margins are under pressure, and we need to save costs," Bayer MaterialScience Chief Executive Marijn Dekkers told reporters.
Marijn Dekkers
Photos: Bayer MaterialScience

"Our margins are under pressure, and we need to save costs," Bayer MaterialScience Chief Executive Marijn Dekkers told reporters.

"Our margins are under pressure, and we need to save costs," Dekkers said, according to news reports.

Leading Producer

With more than 14,500 employees and more than 2,000 chemicals in its product portfolio, Bayer MaterialScience is one of the largest materials producers in the world. The company is the global market leader in polyurethane and polycarbonate production and is one of the largest suppliers of raw materials for coatings, adhesives and sealants.

News reports quoted Dekkers as saying that chemical companies had increased output capacity in recent years in anticipation of rising demand in emerging markets that are now cooling off. Growth in China "has weakened considerably," he said, according to a Reuters report.

BMS coatings

Bayer MaterialScience is the top global producer of polyurethanes and polycarbonates and makes hundreds of raw materials for coatings, adhesives and sealants.

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He called the problem temporary.

"In the next two or three years, our margins will improve again," he said, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

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Labor Discussions

Meanwhile, Dekkers said, the company had been discussing "small adjustments" with labor representatives but declined to disclose specifics or whether the cuts would include job losses, according to post-gazette.com.

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BMS polyurethanes

Bayer's polyurethanes are used in a wide range of paints and coatings.

With German elections set for Sept. 22, Dekkers also called for policies to reduce energy costs, saying that MaterialScience in Germany "pays double the amount for electricity as in the U.S.," according to the Journal.

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Bayer MaterialScience's competitors include Sabic, of Saudi Arabia, for polycarbonates and BASF for polyurethane foam chemicals, Reuters noted.

Tagged categories: Adhesive; Bayer; Bayer MaterialScience; Coating chemistry; Coating Materials; Coatings raw materials manufacturers; Polyurethane; Raw materials; Sealant


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