Bayer MaterialScience AG has officially inaugurated its Asia-Pacific regional innovation hub at the Polymer Research & Development center in Shanghai.
BMS said the hub is based on Bayer's global standards for its polyurethane, polycarbonates and coatings businesses. The company plans to develop ideas, together with its customers, for the use of high-performance foams and coatings in sectors such as mobility, construction, IT and renewable energy.
"Our regional innovation hub will become a significant contributor to our overall global innovation network," said Patrick Thomas, CEO of Bayer MaterialScience, in a May 21 news release.
He added: "We are aiming to reach a global innovation footprint for Bayer and its partners by exporting China-made technology to the rest of the world by 2020."
The regional innovation hub will provide support to R&D facilities in South Korea, Taiwan, India and Japan, Bayer said. It is expected to employ more than 200.
The new center will be supported by a network of production sites in Asia Pacific with major production sites in Shanghai, Map Ta Phut (Thailand) and Niihama (Japan).
Asia Pacific is among the strongest growth regions for BMS and accounted for 3.15 billion euro of sales in 2012. The growth is mainly driven by increasing demand from infrastructure, automotive, electronic consumer goods and new housing from an affluent emerging middle class. At the same time, governments are looking at sustainable energy generating technologies, among them energy from renewable resources such as wind and solar energy.