Bayer MaterialScience LLC and Composites One announced today that they have reached a distribution agreement in which Composites One will sell Bayer MaterialScience's polyurethane resin systems directly to composite parts manufacturers throughout the United States.
The agreement is effective immediately. It covers the distribution and sale of all fully formulated Bayer MaterialScience polyurethane systems developed for use in manufacturing composite parts, particularly those manufactured through the pultrusion, resin transfer molding, vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding, resin infusion, and filament winding processes. The agreement does not include sales of Bayer MaterialScience polyurethane raw materials. No further details of the agreement were released.
Greg Shymske, vice president of marketing for Arlington Heights, IL-based Composites One, said, "There are many opportunities in composites and the market is constantly looking for new materials that offer unique advantages. We are very involved with customers as they move from open-mold processing to closed-mold techniques and to use low-VOC chemistries. Consistent with these trends, polyurethane products offer real performance and environmental benefits over some of the chemistries traditionally used in the manufacture of composites, and we want to offer those benefits to our customers. Selling Bayer MaterialScience polyurethane systems will enable us to do so."
"This agreement enables Composites One to offer our composites customers a unique package of proven polyurethane resin systems backed by an unprecedented level of technical support and service," Shymske added. "Bayer MaterialScience is the inventor of polyurethane chemistry. We now offer their proven polyurethane resin systems backed by our technical support and service, further supported by Bayer's extensive R&D and technical expertise."
Shymske continued saying, "It's a very strong package."
"Composites One's network of 32 strategically-located distribution and stocking centers will provide speedy local delivery and shorter order times to composite part manufacturers," said Jerry MacCleary, head of the NAFTA Polyurethanes Marketing Business Unit, Bayer MaterialScience LLC. "We feel this agreement will help us all grow, and enable Bayer polyurethane systems to reach markets that we previously could not."
Composites One is the nation's leading distributor of composite materials serving customers from 32 locations in North America. Composites One offers composites fabricators and molders thousands of products from over 500 of the industry's top suppliers through a technical sales and customer service force that is the most knowledgeable in the industry. The company offers a variety of value-added services that include closed mold technologies, technical applications reviews, and unmatched regulatory compliance assistance.