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For Immediate Release

Bayer MaterialScience Establishes UV Center of Excellence

Center Underscores Bayer MaterialScience’s Leadership in Advancing UV Curing Technology

June 19, 2006

CHICAGO, June 19, 2006 — In a demonstration of its leadership in the emerging area of UV curing, Bayer MaterialScience has established the UV Center of Excellence in Pittsburgh.

Establishing the center is in line with Bayer MaterialScience's company-wide commitment to helping make customers' visions a reality, according to Dr. Ramesh Subramanian, senior scientist, Advanced, Wood & Vinyl Coatings Group. "This significant investment in equipment and manpower corroborates Bayer's commitment to develop leading-edge coatings technologies," he said.

The center includes a research and development laboratory housed on Bayer MaterialScience's Pittsburgh campus and equipped with high throughput screening equipment capable of evaluating 40,000 formulations in as little as three weeks, an automated miniature spray setup and a surface hardness tester. This lab is complemented by a full-scale spray and application facility — including a pilot production line operated by full-time spray experts from the Spray Technology Group — located near Bayer MaterialScience's Pittsburgh campus.

UV curing is already used in a number of diverse applications, including coatings on compact discs, magazine covers, plastics and composites for example. With the center, Bayer MaterialScience aims to further advance UV curing technology. One initial research and development effort is focused on the automotive refinish market. As the low-intensity UV lamp technology continues to advance with the investigation of alternative lighting sources — fluorescent tubes and LEDs — the objective is to move from smaller, spot repairs to large-scale repairs, with the eventual goal of converting "end of the line OEM repair" to this technology. The knowledge gained in this field helped Bayer MaterialScience take a leading role in developing UV cure coatings for direct-to-metal applications.

Bayer MaterialScience's UV Center of Excellence addresses the full spectrum of high- and low-intensity UV curing — from concept to commercial application, according to Michael Dvorchak, technical manager, Advanced, Wood & Vinyl Coatings, Bayer MaterialScience. "Bayer MaterialScience is committed to developing new, innovative technologies in the lab, and then facilitating the transfer of these technologies to the real world," he explained. "The UV Center of Excellence is instrumental to this initiative."

For more information about Bayer MaterialScience's UV Center of Excellence, call 800-662-2927 or visit www.BayerMaterialScienceNAFTA.com.

Bayer MaterialScience LLC is one of the leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics in North America and is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with nearly 19,000 employees at 40 sites around the world and 2005 sales of 10.7 billion euros. Our innovative developments in coating, adhesive and sealant raw materials, polycarbonates, polyurethanes and thermoplastic urethane elastomers enhance the design and functionality of products in a wide variety of markets, including the automotive, construction, electrical and electronics, household and medical industries, and the sports and leisure fields. Our inorganic basic chemicals unit produces chlorine and related essential products for the chemicals industry. Let us give life to your vision. Bayer MaterialScience — Where VisionWorks.

Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is part of the worldwide Bayer Group, an international health care, nutrition and innovative materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer employed 16,200 at the end of 2005 and had net sales of 7.3 billion euros. Bayer's three operating companies — Bayer HealthCare LLC, Bayer CropScience LP and Bayer MaterialScience LLC — improve people's lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose and treat diseases, protect crops and advance automobile safety and durability.

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Media Contact(s)
Name:	Thomas Erdner
Phone:	412-777-5200
Email:	thomas.erdner@bayerbms.com

The UV Center of Excellence includes a research and development laboratory housed on Bayer MaterialScience’s Pittsburgh campus and equipped with high throughput screening equipment capable of evaluating 40,000 formulations in as little as three weeks.

This lab is complemented by a full-scale spray and application facility — including a pilot production line operated by full-time spray experts from the Spray Technology Group — located near Bayer MaterialScience’s Pittsburgh campus.