German company to raise commodity prices

International. Bayer MaterialScience announced that from the first of June 2011 it will increase sales prices for aliphatic polyisocyanates by at least 9% for regions such as Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The company said that the price increase will affect monomeric diisocyanates HDI (hexamethylene diisocyanate) and IPDI (isoforone diisocyanate) and their derivatives. These are part of the firm's product line: Desmodur® N, Desmodur® BL, Desmodur® Blends, Desmodur® Z and Bayhydur®. The company confirmed that the current contractual agreements will be fulfilled.

On the other hand, they reported that they will invest about US $ 120 million in their plant in Baytown, Texas, USA, which this year celebrates 40 years of operation, the oldest facility in that country. Investments include advances in the following processes:

- Diisocyanate diphenyl methylene: environmental improvements, improved reliability.
- Toluene diisocyanate: improved process technology, environmental and energy efficiency improvements, and reliability improvements to increase productivity.
- Polycarbonate: updates in reliability and quality improvement for advanced optical applications.