7 Sep 2009 , Monheim : Bayer CropScience has invested EUR 4.9 million in the expansion of the compound logistics at its Monheim site. It has one of the most modern facilities in the world for storing chemical compounds. The company’s scientists use the 2.2 million or so substances currently in the collection to search for promising active ingredients for innovative crop protection products. After just 15 months of construction, the extension was inaugurated at a ceremony attended by Dr. Alexander Klausener, Head of Research at Bayer CropScience.

The purpose of the compound logistics is to store, prepare and distribute substances prior to comprehensive biological testing. “We are now in a position to pursue our research and development activities even more efficiently than before,” Dr. Klausener explained. With expenditures of EUR 649 million in research and development (2008), Bayer CropScience is one of the leading companies in its sector.

The central feature of the compound logistics, which has been extended to cover more than 1,000 square meters, is the substance storage area. The automatic miniload warehouse with some 24,000 storage positions now has space for about 7.6 million vials containing minute quantities of different chemical compounds. Placed side by side, the vials would cover a distance of around 161 kilometers. A total of 16 robots and retrieval units “work” in the facility, where they achieve a high throughput. They quickly supply researchers in Bayer CropScience’s institutes with the exact quantities they need; this spares resources and, above all, ensures “just in time” delivery. The investigational substances undergo a comprehensive screening procedure, in which they are tested to see whether they have a desired effect, for example in controlling fungal pathogens, insect pests or weeds, and could thus be suitable as the starting point for developing a new product.

About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG with annual sales of about EUR 6.4 billion (2008), is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. The company offers an outstanding range of products and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of more than 18,000 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.

More information is available at www.bayercropscience.com