Bayer starts work on new hexamethylene diisocyanate plant in Shanghai

Bayer MaterialScience has begun construction work for a new plant for the production of the precursor hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) at a site in Shanghai, China. With an annual capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes, it will be the one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world, and production there will be efficient and ecological with a maximum of safety. Completion is scheduled for 2016. Bayer already has one HDI plant in Shanghai, which was expanded in 2013 from its original annual capacity of 30,000 metric tonnes.
 
There is considerable demand in the region and China, in particular, for coatings and adhesives, which are used in the automotive industry, the construction sector and the textile and shoe industries, among others. This growth is being driven to a large extent by the growing middle class, which has an increasing appetite for high-quality end products.
 
“The construction of our new HDI plant documents our confidence in the Asia/Pacific market and China, in particular. We are determined to continue to grow here in harmony with the rising demand in the region for innovative solutions for polyurethane-based coatings and adhesives,” said Daniel Meyer, who heads the Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties (CAS) Business Unit at Bayer MaterialScience.