Bayer Appoints Four Distributors to Market Mesamoll in Polyurethane Cleaning Applications.

PITTSBURGH--(AutomotiveWire)--May 11, 1998--The Bayer Corporation Rubber Business Group today announced the appointment of four key distributors to market the Bayer specialty plasticizer, Mesamoll(R), in polyurethane processing equipment cleaning applications. The distributors named -- M.F. Cachat Company, R.M. Ferguson and Company, Inc., McCullough & Benton and E.T. Horn -- will market Mesamoll in the United States and Canada.

"Bayer has enjoyed productive, solid relationships with all four of the distributors we've selected," says Richard King, business manager for Bayer's Polymers and Additives Group. He points out that M.F. Cachat, McCullough & Benton and E.T. Horn already represent several Bayer polyurethane and coatings products and that R.M. Ferguson also serves as Bayer's rubber distributor in Canada. "These companies have proven themselves capable of providing a broad customer base with the level of individual, intensive service that this application demands."

Although Mesamoll has been used in polyurethane cleaning for many years, the potential for increased sales and applications is now growing rapidly as alternatives such as methylene chloride and other solvents are phased out. Mesamoll combines a high flash point with low viscosity. Not a VOC, Mesamoll is very compatible with polyurethane and isocyanate polymers. Mesamoll facilitates efficient cleaning by softening the polyurethane, allowing it to be more easily and thoroughly rinsed out of equipment.

Under the new agreement, M.F. Cachat Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, will market Mesamoll primarily in New England and the upper mid-West United States. The southeastern states will be serviced by McCullough & Benton of Atlanta, Georgia, and E.T. Horn will be responsible for Mesamoll sales and service primarily in eleven western states including California. The Canadian market will be covered by R.M. Ferguson and Company, Inc. from their headquarters in Ontario. Bayer will continue to sell Mesamoll directly in applications such as a specialty plasticizer for PVC plasticols and other flexible PVCs.

Bayer Corporation is a research-based company with major businesses in health care and life sciences, chemicals and imaging technologies. The company had 1996 sales of $9 billion and employs 24,000 people. Bayer Corporation is investing approximately $9 billion in capital expenditures and research and development in the U.S. operations from 1995 through the year 2000. Capital expenditures for 1996 totaled $632 million, and $621 million was spent for research and development. Bayer Corporation, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, is a member of the worldwide Bayer Group, a $32.4 billion chemical and pharmaceutical company based in Leverkusen, Germany.

CONTACT: Bayer Corporation

Jill Ricetti, 412/777-4998