Chemicals behemoth Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany, has long reached beyond the traditional chemicals industry. Recent collaborations promise to further strengthen its role in areas such as glazing, counterfeit protection and crop science.
[pullquote]Bayer MaterialScience, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, worked with John Deere to develop polycarbonate glazing for forestry machinery drivers' cabs. The result: extreme break resistance.
Safety is paramount in forest operations. Drivers of forestry vehicles must be protected against falling branches through break-proof windows.
“Due to these design and safety requirements, we were looking for a polycarbonate manufacturer with a great deal of expertise in vehicle glazing. We decided on a co-operation with Bayer MaterialScience because the company offers comprehensive know-how in every stage of the sheet manufacturing process and beyond — from design and thermoforming to scratch-resistant coating and bonding,” explains Sven Künstler, project manager E-Cab at the John Deere plant in Bruchsal, Germany.
Bayer MaterialScience also offers innovation in the field of anti-counterfeiting. The division's new polycarbonate film Makrofol ID ProteXXion contains tiny metallic identification particles, which are distributed stochastically and can be arranged in customized patterns to deliver identification security features. This overlay film can be used to give polycarbonate security documents, such as IDs, passports, drivers’ licenses and, in the future, also credit cards, an unmistakable, unique surface. It also holds excellent potential for protecting high-quality branded articles and in the production of counterfeit-proof labels. “Thanks to the random distribution of the metal particles, every ID made of our new film is unique and, therefore, virtually counterfeit-proof,” says Cengiz Yesildag, head of sales in the Films Unit at Bayer MaterialScience.
The company also cooperates with competitors. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer, and DuPont have entered into a series of business agreements related to key plant biotechnology traits and enabling technologies.
[sidebar id="1"]The agreements establish cross-licenses that will enable next-generation seed solutions and weed and insect control strategies from Bayer CropScience and the DuPont Crop Protection and Pioneer Hi-Bred businesses. The agreements also resolve outstanding legal and patent disputes between the companies in the area of insect control and herbicide safeners.
Bayer CropScience and Monsanto Co. also have entered into business agreements. The two companies will cross-license their respective herbicide tolerance traits in rapeseed/canola on a non-exclusive basis for commercialization within their respective branded canola seed businesses.
Under the terms of this global agreement, Monsanto will grant Bayer CropScience access to Monsanto’s Genuity Roundup Ready canola trait and Bayer CropScience will grant Monsanto access to its LibertyLink tolerance trait for use in canola. The agreement also includes specified rights to access, on a non-exclusive basis, future herbicide tolerance traits and other agronomic traits that may be introduced by either party for use in canola. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.
“This agreement builds on our practice of broadly licensing our technologies to bring value to farmers,” says Neil Arbuckle, Monsanto’s Canola Business development lead. “Canola oil is one of the healthiest oils available and as such, plays a key role in the global vegetable oil market. With this new agreement, farmers will benefit from greater access to new traits and new technologies that will help ensure canola remains competitive in the global marketplace.”