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For Immediate Release

Cost-effective, lightweight alternative to concrete: Revolutionary CENTRIA Sound Barrier uses Baytherm™ polyisocyanurate foam from BaySystems™ to provide durable, eco-friendly sound abatement

February 5, 2009

Pittsburgh, February 5, 2009 — Traditionally, sound barriers designed to keep residential communities from hearing cars as they speed along the highway have been made with either poured-in-place or pre-cast concrete slabs. Now, there's a better alternative. CENTRIA of Moon Township, Pa., has developed an innovative cost-effective, eco-friendly and lightweight composite barrier that utilizes Baytherm™ polyisocyanurate foam from BaySystems™, the umbrella brand for the global polyurethane systems operations of Bayer MaterialScience.

The CENTRIA Sound Barrier offers a number of advantages: it is safer, lighter, faster to install and requires less maintenance than pre-cast concrete barriers. Furthermore, the CENTRIA Sound Barrier, which is less than one-third of the cost of traditional barrier materials, is also an eco-friendly product, made of up to 25 percent recycled content. The barrier is 100 percent recyclable at the end of its useful life.

"The CENTRIA Sound Barrier is an example of how Bayer MaterialScience and BaySystems™ constantly strive to combine our proven portfolio of materials with our decades of expertise to create innovative solutions in totally new markets," said Joseph D. Ventura, business development manager, Bayer MaterialScience.

The innovative sound barrier features a medium-density polyurethane foam core made from Baytherm™ foam. The core is clad with metal skids that are painted for added durability. The finished sound barrier requires virtually no maintenance after installation.

"We worked closely with Bayer to determine the right combination of materials to achieve an end product that performed as well as a traditional sound barrier, but was easier to install, safer for cars and came in at a fraction of the cost," said Rick Mowrey, director of marketing and business development, CENTRIA. "With Bayer's help, we were able to achieve just that."

The first CENTRIA Sound Barrier was installed at mile marker 7.3 on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Enon Valley, Pa., in May 2008. The premiere project was constructed using 500 panels covering 24,000 feet, yet required no lane closures during the delivery and installation of the lightweight panels. This was a stark contrast to typical highway barrier installation, which often requires weeks of road closures so that heavy-duty trucks can be positioned to move barriers into place. The Enon Valley installation required only six trucks to ship materials and approximately 30 minutes to unload. Panel installation was completed within five days.

"Using traditional pre-cast barriers for this project would have required the use of 45 trucks to transport materials and taken four weeks to install," explained Mowrey. "The CENTRIA Sound Barrier has proven to be a cost effective and logistically efficient option to traditional costly and time-consuming sound barrier materials."

The CENTRIA Sound Barrier is available in a variety of design finishes, including brick, cobblestone and ivy, and can be painted in up to 40 color options.

Based in Pittsburgh, (Moon Township, Pa.) CENTRIA is an international company and the nation's premier supplier of architectural metal wall and roofing systems used in commercial/industrial products. Since 1906, CENTRIA professionals have provided quality products and services for architectural and construction firms worldwide.

Effective March 1, 2007, Bayer MaterialScience has combined its entire global polyurethane systems business under the umbrella brand of BaySystems™. This change affects not only existing product brands in this segment, but also the global network of polyurethane systems houses. More information about BaySystems™ can be found at www.bayer-baysystems.com.

Bayer MaterialScience LLC is one of the leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics in North America and is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with nearly 15,400 employees at 30 sites around the world and 2007 sales of 10.4 billion euros. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical, and sports and leisure industries. Our inorganic basic chemicals unit produces chlorine and related essential products for the chemicals industry.

Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and innovative materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer had 2007 net sales of 8.1 billion euros and employed 16,800 at year end. Bayer's three subgroups, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience, improve people's lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose, prevent and treat diseases; protect crops and enhance yields; and advance automobile safety and durability.

For more information about BaySystems™, visit www.bayer-baysystems.com.

For more information about this or other products from Bayer MaterialScience, call 1-800-662-2927 or visit www.bayermaterialsciencenafta.com.

For more information about CENTRIA, call 1-888-216-9600, or visit www.centria.com.

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This website may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Media Contact(s)
Name:	Tom Erdner
Phone:	412-777-5200
Company:	Bayer MaterialScience
Email:	thomas.erdner@bayerbms.com