AsianScientist (Nov. 14, 2011) – The Bayer Group plans to further expand its production, distribution network, and research activities in Asia and considerably increase regional sales by 60 percent in the coming years. This would mean annual sales of well over EUR 11 billion by 2015 at today’s exchange rates.
This forecast was made by Management Board Chairman Dr. Marijn Dekkers on Wednesday at Bayer’s international press conference “Perspective on Growth in Asia,” held in Shanghai, China.
In the Asian region, Bayer achieved sales of EUR 6.9 billion in 2010, including EUR 2.9 billion in Greater China, and anticipates further growth in Asia in 2011.
India, where sales are expected to grow from just over EUR 0.5 billion last year to about EUR 1 billion, is expected to contribute to Bayer’s growth. Sales in Japan are planned to rise from just under EUR 2 billion to around EUR 2.4 billion.
To meet its targets, Bayer intends to improve the availability of its products in Asia and to invest in R&D for diseases that frequently occur in the region, such as liver cancer.
The company also plans to expand its Asian workforce, which has increased by nearly 8 percent in the past 12 months alone. The number of employees in Asia could increase from 23,700 in 2010 to more than 30,000 by 2015. Capital expenditures of some EUR 1.8 billion are also planned during this period.
Bayer aiming for rapid growth in China
A major focus of Bayer’s activities is Greater China, now the company’s biggest market in the region with 11,000 employees and sales of EUR 2.2 billion. The company plans to increase sales in Greater China to about EUR 6 billion by 2015.
On Wednesday, Dekkers also inaugurated a new TDI production facility with a planned capacity of 250,000 tons per year at the Bayer Integrated Site Shanghai.
The plant is based on a new process technology that reduces solvent use by some 80 percent compared with plants of a similar size that use the conventional process. It also lowers energy consumption by up to 60 percent. The use of this technology also enables substantial savings on operating costs and a reduction of roughly 60,000 tons per year in carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, the new technology cuts the investment costs for large-scale plants of this type by around 20 percent.
Finally, Bayer plans a second phase of investment in its Shanghai Chemical Industry Park operations. It plans to spend a further EUR 1 billion to expand its MDI capacity to 1 million tons per year, increase its polycarbonate capacity to 500,000 tons annually and build a new HDI line that will raise annual capacity by 50,000 tons.
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Source: Bayer Group.
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