Bayer Ups Plan For Shanghai Polyurethane

Bayer MaterialScience's planned toluene diisocyanate plant in Shanghai will have an annual capacity of 300,000 metric tons per year, nearly double the 160,000 metric tons previously announced. The firm is applying for regulatory approvals for the facility, which it hopes to open in 2009. Bayer does not say how much it will spend on the plant but notes that it will implement a new process that "dramatically" reduces capital expenditures and energy costs. The company says it is spending a total of $1.8 billion on new facilities in Shanghai, where it started a $450 million polycarbonate plant last year.