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Featured Interview in K 2013: Bayer MaterialScience AG Communications


Comprehensive sustainability concept / Open dialog with visitors / Numerous presentations and opportunities for discussion
Düsseldorf, October 16, 2013 – Under the motto “Sharing Dreams, Sharing Value – Be Part Of It,” Bayer MaterialScience is showcasing its products and services at K 2013, the world's largest plastics trade fair taking place in Düsseldorf, Germany, from October 16 - 23. At Stand A 75 in Hall 6, the company invites everyone to participate in a very special kind of dialog: this focuses on dreams and the question of how these dreams can be fulfilled with the help of innovative material solutions. In its 150-year history, the inventor company Bayer has made many important contributions. 

“The goal of all our activities is to improve the lives of others,” says Patrick Thomas, Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer MaterialScience. “We invest all our years of experience and our know-how into reaching this goal, true to our company philosophy, 'Bayer: Science For A Better Life'.” When people dream of a better life, their dreams often revolve around motifs such as freedom, security and happiness. Desires emerge that can inspire research activities and finally lead to the market introduction of new products. Bayer MaterialScience therefore has geared its stand at K 2013 to freedom, security and happiness, and grouped the topics presented there to reflect these motifs. 

More than ever before, sustainability is the critical principle in this and all future developments and thus an integral part of Bayer MaterialScience's business strategy. “Sustainability for me means above all a better life for people,” declares Patrick Thomas. “In view of the global challenges, we must act now, and for us, as a company in the chemical industry, that means minimizing the negative impacts of our activities on man and the environment, and adapting our actions along the entire value chain to the good of society. Together with our employees and partners, we want to successfully implement this concept.” 
It began with a dream 
A new development often begins with a dream. When a number of people share the same dream, it can foster desires and finally ideas, which can become reality. “That is why dreams are so important to us. They are critical indicators of how we can best focus our research activities,” explains Manfred Rink, stand manager for Bayer MaterialScience. “If all goes well, they end in products that create value and ultimately in success for all participants. This is what 'Sharing Value' in our stand motto means.” 

Sharing and discussing dreams is encouraged at K 2013 by an open dialog with visitors in all target groups. “Our entire stand concept is tailored to communication,” Manfred Rink says. 

At latest-generation interactive media tables, visitors can enter their own dreams and make them a topic of discussion. With touchscreen interfaces and gesture recognition, the displays also offer the option of learning more about current innovations at Bayer MaterialScience. But it is not always about market-ready solutions. Visionary developments also are shown that can inspire discussions. Apart from exchanging ideas on modern multimedia devices, visitors naturally can also talk in person with employees at the stand. 

Numerous presentations and opportunities for discussion
Bayer MaterialScience further offers its visitors opportunities every day to interact with experts and VIPs. The daily VIP Talks (www.materialscience.bayer.com/K-Fair/Talk-Overview/Kalender.aspx) center on outstanding and sustainable plastics applications. For instance, aviation pioneer Bertrand Piccard talks about his Solar Impulse project. John Elkington, an authority in the field of corporate social responsibility, seeks an exchange of ideas on sustainable projects in developing and emerging countries. And robotics specialist Yoshiyuki Sankai talks with visitors about a special suit that helps older and handicapped people to be more mobile. 

Another information round at the Bayer MaterialScience stand comprises brief, concise presentations in the so-called Pecha-Kucha format. In these speed talks, researchers, engineers and designers discuss intelligent developments for the automotive, construction and electrical/electronics industries.

Nature as a model – sandwich structure for body parts
“A total of 80 current developments at our stand impressively show how our material solutions can help make dreams come true,” Manfred Rink says. “At the same time, they are an expression of our superior innovative competence."

For example, auto makers and consumers want maximum freedom when it comes to designing cars. A vehicle should be personal and unique, but so lightweight that it uses as little fuel as possible, something that can benefit both the driver's wallet and the environment. 

At K 2013, Bayer MaterialScience presents the prototype of a trunk lid with a sandwich structure that fulfills these very criteria. Its developers borrowed their ideas from nature: with its thin, rigid outer skin and lightweight core, the structure of the strong component is reminiscent of a bone. All the materials used are from Bayer MaterialScience, from the glass fiber-reinforced matrix material made of polycarbonate and the polyurethane foam core to the polyurethane raw materials for the two-component exterior coating system.

Logistics with new logic – intelligent transport solutions for food
Many people dream of a secure supply of fresh food. Unfortunately, food loses much of its original freshness during transport, especially over the last mile to households. The result: instead of being eaten, a lot of it ends up in the garbage. To make sure all the vitamins reach consumers intact, the delivery chain must be better networked, and that also goes for the kitchen itself, which in the future will likely develop into a high-functioning logistics center.

Bayer MaterialScience is actively shaping this development, for instance with a cleverly designed refrigerated box that reliably keep foods fresh on the way from refrigerated supermarket cases to a home refrigerator. A thin layer of fine-pore rigid foam made from the polyurethane system Baytherm® Microcell insulates the contents of the box very effectively against higher outdoor temperatures. Together with an impact-resistant housing made of Makrolon® polycarbonate, the lightweight refrigerated box is easy to handle. The foam can also improve the already effective insulation in refrigerators and freezers, enabling these appliances to achieve an A+++ energy efficiency class rating.

Keen on curved surfaces – 3D displays are the trend
Designers have long dreamed of displays with a homogeneous, but fully customizable 3D surface. Such surfaces would also be the answer for drivers who want to have an individually designed auto interior and only view the most important information. Beyond the automobile, this display solution could also become established in other areas of everyday life, for instance in televisions, computers or digital advertising media – to the benefit of both designers and consumers. 

One very instructive example is on display at Bayer MaterialScience's stand: visitors can learn more about the company's latest developments and enter their own dreams at interactive media tables with seamless touchscreen interfaces. The brilliant optical image in HD quality is generated by lamps that project photos, videos and texts onto the Makrofol® RP film from the back.

All journalists are cordially invited to visit the Bayer MaterialScience Press Center on the gallery of the stand in Hall 6, where they will find opportunities to discuss the innovations on display. Interviews with experts from the company can be arranged on request. 

About Bayer MaterialScience:
With 2012 sales of EUR 11.5 billion, Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and the sports and leisure industries. At the end of 2012, Bayer MaterialScience had 30 production sites and employed approximately 14,500 people around the globe. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.

This news release is available for download from the Bayer MaterialScience press server atwww.press.bayerbms.com. 

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