Rinspeed's Senso: the car that senses the driver

The international production network of Bayer MaterialScience, comprising 40 sites worldwide, produces more than 4 million tons of raw materials annually. Proximity to customers ensures short delivery times and flexible service. The main consumers of the company's products are the automotive and construction industries, the electrical/ electronics sector and manufacturers of sports and leisure articles, packaging and medical equipment.

Among the best-sellers in the Bayer MaterialScience portfolio are the Makrolon, Makrofol and Apec brands of high-quality polycarbonates. These products are indispensable for the manufacture of automotive components, optical storage media such as CDs and DVDs, medical equipment and many products integral to everyday life. For instance, polycarbonate sheeting is used to roof grandstands and train stations, and as transparent outer walls for gazebos and carports.

Polyurethanes have long been indispensable in many areas of everyday life. Polyurethane raw materials are used in applications ranging from mattresses, car seats and insulation for refrigerators to car bumpers and shoe soles. More than a quarter of the total amount of polyurethane raw materials produced globally comes from Bayer. Desmodur and Desmophen are important brands. Services provided to customers in this area include the development of customized formulations, technical support for processing technologies and an optimized sales organization operating via systems houses.

Coating systems based on polyurethane raw materials from Bayer MaterialScience have excelled in use on a variety of substrates. They reliably protect surfaces from weathering, they are resistant to chemicals and display first-class mechanical properties. Bayer has long been a pioneer in the development of environmentally compatible coating and adhesives systems, and is committed to extending its technological leadership. The Bayhydrol and Bayhydur brands of coating raw materials, for example, have a good track record in waterborne polyurethane coating systems.

Thermoplastic polyurethanes combine the high quality properties of polyurethane elastomers with the efficient processability of thermoplastics. Products from the Desmopan range are used for films, hoses, cable sheathing, ski boots, athletic shoes and automobile interiors.

The backbone of Bayer MaterialScience's production is the Inorganic Basic Chemicals Business Unit, which chiefly produces chlorine, but also caustic soda, hydrochloric acid and hydrogen.

In H.C. Starck, Wolff Walsrode, Bayer Sheet Europe and Hennecke, Bayer MaterialScience has four well-positioned specialist companies that are continually developing as independent companies and comprise a valuable adjunct to the portfolio. H. C. Starck can boast expertise in extracting and purifying refractory metals that is unique on the global market, and is also making an important contribution to the mobile energy production of the future in the field of ceramic fuel cells.

Wolff Walsrode is a leading specialist in cellulose chemistry. The company's products are used in foodstuffs, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, coatings, printing inks and construction materials.

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