Bayer MaterialScience recently announced it is increasing its production capacities in the Asia-Pacific region to meet the continued growth in demand there for raw materials for coatings and adhesives. Ground was recently broken at the company’s Shanghai, China, site for a new plant to produce the precursor hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). With an annual capacity of 50,000 metric tons, it will reportedly be the one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. Completion is scheduled for 2016.

“The construction of our new HDI plant documents our confidence in the Asia-Pacific market and China, in particular,” said Daniel Meyer, who heads the Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties (CAS) Business Unit. “We are determined to continue to grow here in harmony with the rising demand in the region for innovative solutions for polyurethane-based coatings and adhesives.”