Bayer MaterialScience Launches New Plastics Recyclate

29 Aug 2008, Bitterfeld – On September 1, 2008, Bayer MaterialScience will begin marketing the plastics recyclate Levblend® through the Internet platform www.viverso.com. Levblend® is a PC+ABS-R (polycarbonate+acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene-copolymer-recyclate). “With this new recyclate, based on Makrolon® post-production waste material from the Uerdingen and Antwerp plants, Bayer MaterialScience is making a greater contribution than ever before to the responsible use of raw materials and the sustainability of its plastics production operations. "Our customers can also rely on a continuous supply of raw materials and assured availability”, says Frank Gerling, Vice President for Product Management Europe, Middle East and Africa in the Polycarbonates Business Unit at Bayer MaterialScience. Gerling believes that Levblend® will support ongoing cost-cutting programs such as those in the automotive industry by providing an alternative and more economical raw material. Selling the product online through Viverso GmbH also means that orders can be processed rapidly and cost-effectively.

Initially, the PC+ABS-R is being marketed exclusively to automobile manufacturers and their suppliers based in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The next step will be to distribute the product throughout the whole of Europe. The experts at Bayer MaterialScience believe that Levblend® is ideal for use in plastics components for the automotive industry, for example add-on body parts, component assemblies and front and rear headlamps – all of which can be designed in a PC+ABS-R from the outset.

The first product from the new recyclate family will be Levblend® 80. One of the key properties of this material is its heat resistance to Vicat VST/B120 (between 124 and 134 °C) in line with ISO 306. The melt volume flow rate (MVR, 260 °C/5 kg) of Levblend® 80 ranges from 5 to 16 cm3/10 min in line with ISO standard 1133. Notched impact strength AiN (at room temperature) according to ISO 180/A is at least 25 kJ/m2. Levblend® 80 will initially only be available in black – it has a broader color tolerance range than familiar prime-grade qualities. Color customization is not planned.

Rüdiger Held, Managing Director of Viverso, is pleased to have concluded the marketing and sales contract with Bayer MaterialScience and believes that Internet-based trading offers a range of benefits: “Standardized order processing enables us to make the process of purchasing plastic recyclates more efficient for customers, thereby reducing their costs. Right from the start of our business operations, we have only ever wanted to offer what customers actually need – and have done so at fair and transparent prices. Our Internet platform at www.viverso.com enables us to run our business in a straightforward, fast, reliable and efficient manner.”

Further information on PC+ABS-R is available at www.viverso.com, which can be used for online purchases and also lists the relevant contact details. Furthermore, materials experts will be on hand to answer all questions at this year’s Fakuma trade fair, which will be taking place from October 14 to 18 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Visitors will find Viverso GmbH at Stand 4502 in Hall B4.

About Bayer MaterialScience
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 15,400 employees at 30 sites around the world and 2007 sales of 10.4 billion euros. 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, medical, and sports and leisure industries. 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 a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer had 2007 net sales of 8.1 billion euros and employed 16,800 at year end. Bayer’s three subgroups, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience, improve people’s lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose, prevent and treat diseases; protect crops and enhance yields; and advance automobile safety and durability.