Bayer MaterialScience will moves its technical center from
The move, which was announced in a prepared statement from the company, will take between 12 and 18 months and affect 30 employees.
The technical center, which supports the company's polyether and flexible foam businesses, is now located in the
Not all of the 30 employees will be laid off, said Bryan Iames, head of external communications for Bayer. He expects that several of the employees will move to
Bayer's statement read in part, "The technical center supports the manufacturing effort through process development and customers through process and applications development. Bayer's polyurethanes business produces raw materials for polyurethane foam used in the construction, automotive, appliance, furniture and other industries.
The company's statement also said, "The move will not affect the company's ongoing efforts to attract an ethane cracker to its sites in
Bayer's decision to move came on the heels of an announcement from Shell that it will build a $2 billion cracker plant near
Iames said the latest news about the cracker plan had no bearing on Bayer's decision to move to
"In fact, we continue to market our property in New Martinsville and Institute in hopes to attract an ethane cracker to
South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens said he's disappointed that 30 high-paying jobs will be leaving
"This is just a financial decision made by their company," Mullens said. "It's disappointing, but at the same time, we understand and let's move forward."