Bayer MaterialScience LLC has bought a Texas polyurethane feedstock plant from DuPont Co.
The plant in Baytown, Texas, makes aniline, a feedstock used to make MDI-type PU, which is a raw material for rigid PU foams for insulation in the construction market. The facility already is part of a larger complex operated by Pittsburgh-based BMS, a unit of chemicals and plastics giant Bayer AG of Leverkusen, Germany.
No purchase price was disclosed in the acquisition, which fully integrates BMS along the MDI value chain at the site.
“North America is poised for strong MDI growth driven by recovery in the construction market, energy code advancement and home comfort trends,” BMS vice president and PU regional product manager Craig Caputo said in a March 3 news release.
In the last two years, BMS has invested about $120 million in process, reliability, quality and environmental improvements in Baytown. The site also makes TDI-type PU as well as polycarbonate.