Bayer AG Investing 14 Million In Thai Plant

Matt Hopkins Posted by Matt Hopkins|13 April 2009

Demonstrating its confidence in long-term growth in Thailand, German chemical company Bayer AG announced it will invest US $14 million to expand its production site in Rayong this year, according to Trading Markets.com. Managing Director, Dominikus von Pescatore, Bayer Thai Co, said the plant’s expansion will meet growing demand in the Asia-Pacific region. Bayer has spent $20 million annually for the last four years, says von Pescatore, including Bayer Thai Bangpu Industrial Estate plant, which produces environmental science, crop protection, and animal health products.

Von Pescatore says Bayer has recorded 80% growth in revenue in Thailand over the last four years. In 2008, sales rose 4% from the previous year to almost $255 million, half of which was generated by material science operations, 30% by healthcare, and 15% by crop science. The company increased its
payroll by 10% last year, bringing its total headcount to 1,227 by the end of 2008.

Bayer Thai, expecting positive development beyond 2009, has set up a rice development centre in Suphan Buri, which requires an investment of close to $3 million from 2008 to 2012. It should launch its first hybrid rice for Thailand in 2011 and for export at a later stage, says von Pescatore.

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