Covestro successfully issues EUR 1.0 billion Eurobond

Investors show confidence in Covestro

Covestro successfully issues EUR 1.0 billion Eurobond

• Placement in two tranches with maturities of 5 years and 10 years

• Investor demand was exceptionally high with the orderbook being more than 10 times oversubscribed

• CFO Dr. Thomas Toepfer: “Even in these challenging times, the capital market has continued confidence in Covestro and our robust financial policies.”

Covestro successfully placed a Eurobond with a total volume of EUR 1.0 billion in the capital markets. The bond was issued in two tranches maturing February 2026 and June 2030 and pays a coupon of 0.875% and 1.375% respectively. Investor demand was exceptionally high with the orderbook being more than 10 times oversubscribed.

The transaction allows Covestro to extend the average maturity of its bonds substantially. Proceeds of the bond placement will be used to further strengthen Covestro's liquidity in the current macroeconomic environment with the impact of the coronvirus pandemic, as well as providing funds for the 2021 bond maturity.

“The exceptional demand from investors for our bond clearly demonstrates that even in these challenging times, the capital market has continued confidence in Covestro and our robust financial policies”, said CFO Dr. Thomas Toepfer. “The placement of EUR 1.0 billion Eurobond with long-dated maturities is part of our program to build substantial liquidity reserves whilst capturing attractive terms and pricing.”

Covestro was supported on this issuance by BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Commerzbank, and UniCredit as bookrunners.

About Covestro:

With 2019 sales of EUR 12.4 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2019.

This press release is available for download from the Covestro press server at www.covestro.com.

Find more information at: www.covestro.com

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Covestro

Covestro proposes a dividend of EUR 1.20 per share for fiscal 2019

Mumbai,21^st May,2020 :- At its meeting today, the Board of Management of Covestro AG has decided to propose a dividend of EUR 1.20 per share for the 2019 fiscal year to the Annual General Meeting and to carry the remainder of the distributable profit forward to new account.

The Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place as a virtual event on July 30, 2020.

The Board of Management had previously proposed a dividend of EUR 2.40 per share to the Annual General Meeting that was originally planned in Bonn, Germany, on April 17, 2020. The Board of Management currently focuses on securing the company's liquidity and credit rating. As a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, the Board of Management expects significantly lower earnings in fiscal 2020, as detailed in the Q1 2020 interim statement. Despite the economically challenging times, Covestro continues to allow its shareholders to participate in the success of the company. Based on yesterday's Xetra closing price of the Covestro share of EUR 30.49, this dividend proposal equals a dividend yield of 3.9%.

About Covestro:

With 2019 sales of EUR 12.4 billion, Covestro is among the world's largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2019.

This press release is available for download from the Covestro press server at www.covestro.com.

Vodka made from carbon dioxide awarded

• Covestro, CO2 Value Europe and nova Institut donate award
• Start-ups from four nations in the final

March 27th, 2020:- The climate gas carbon dioxide could be used as a raw material for a sustainable vodka or for tangible products like yogamates. Also, filters that can capture and store CO2 with the help of renewable energy sources are possible: The start-ups that have applied for the prestigious award for the most innovative use of climate gas at the nova Institute's digitally-held "8th Conference on Carbon Dioxide as Feedstock for Fuels, Chemistry and Polymers" show how carbon dioxide can be useful. The new solutions are now increasingly benefiting end-users, for whom sustainability is important.

The winner of the "Best CO2 utilization 2020" award is the American start-up Air Company from New York, turning the climate gas CO2 into high-quality alcohol using a new technology. First application is a sustainable vodka. The start-up receives marketing and PR support. A total of 13 young companies participated in the contest, which Covestro is supporting for the second time as its main sponsor together with nova Institute and the industry organization CO2 Value Europe. Five business ideas from four nations were shortlisted and were reviewed online by the approximately 100 participants of the conference.

Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro, responsible for innovation, awarded the winner during the online conference: "Start-ups like Air Company are crucial to ensure that CO2 is no longer seen as a problem only, but as a solution. The ideas presented by the innovative start-ups demonstrate how a meaningful use of CO2 adds value throughout the value chain. While we use carbon dioxide as a resource, our customers develop products out of CO2 that are particularly attractive to end users."

Even in the current challenging situation due to the spread of the Coronavirus, developers and founders worldwide continue to work on solutions for climate protection. "This year's conference shows how important research on the use of CO2 is for sustainable development and that ambitious researchers make important contributions, which are recognized by our prize", stressed Michael Carus, Director of the nova Institute and organizer of the online conference.

Covestro already successfully uses carbon dioxide as a raw material. Since 2016, the material manufacturer has been using CO2 to produce polyols as a component for soft polyurethane foam. This is used to produce mattresses and so carbon dioxide finds its way to the end consumer. Within the framework of the Carbon4PUR research project, the company, together with partners, continues to focus on the goal of enhancing the use of waste gases from steel production to manufacture polyurethane.

More about Carbon4PUR can be found here: https://www.carbon4pur.eu/ 

About Covestro:

With 2019 sales of EUR 12.4 billion, Covestro is among the world's largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2019.

Find more information at www.covestro.com  

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Covestro

Covestro signs EUR 2.5 billion new syndicated revolving credit facility with ESG element for the first time

26th March 2020:-Covestro has successfully signed a contract with its 16 core banks for a new syndicated revolving credit facility for EUR 2.5 billion with a term of five years plus two one-year extension options, effective as of March 17, 2020. The facility can be drawn in different currencies and will be used as a standby backup liquidity reserve. The new facility replaces the existing EUR 1.5 billion revolving credit line, which was also a backup liquidity facility. It provides Covestro with additional financial flexibility and increased liquidity reserves on favourable terms. One important new element of the facility is the link with an environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating: the better Covestro's ESG performance is, the lower the interest component of the credit facility will be. In this way, Covestro is once again underlining its commitment to greater sustainability and creating its own financial incentives for sustainable business performance. "We decided at the end of 2019 to increase our liquidity resources with a new EUR 2.5 billion syndicated revolving credit facility, which is provided by all our core relationship banks. This facility ensures that we have considerable financial leeway over the next few years. By linking the interest on the facility to an ESG rating, we are embedding sustainability as a topical focus in all areas of our business and setting ourselves ambitious targets," said CFO Dr. Thomas Toepfer.

About Covestro: With 2019 sales of EUR 12.4 billion, Covestro is among the world's largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2019. This press release is available for download from the Covestro press server at www.covestro.com. Find more information at: www.covestro.com Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Covestro

Covestro invests in start-ups

• Investments in start-up companies planned in five areas

     • First investments have already been made

Covestro is a start-up investor: With its Covestro Venture Capital (COVeC) approach, the company seeks to combine the needs of start-ups in areas such as financing, expertise and network with its own strategic goals with the goal of ensuring long-term sustainable development. “We are committed to sustainability-driven innovations. By working with young companies and their novel solutions, such as technologies, we are able to take the decisive step forward. This enables us to open up new business areas and provide innovative solutions that give our customers a competitive edge,”  explains Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Covestro.

The most recent example: Covestro invests in the French technical start-up company Crime Science Technology (C.S.T). With this investment, Covestro strengthens its business with special films for ID documents and secures exclusive access to the Optical Variable Material (O.V.M®) technology for polycarbonate and polyurethane materials. This innovative technology developed by C.S.T enables new security features and makes identification documents even more forgery-proof than before.

Focus on established start-ups

Covestro's research and development (R&D) processes are always based on UN sustainability goals, which is why these goals also play an essential role in the selection of planned start-up investments. Consequently, five focus areas have been defined for COVeC to invest in: bio-based raw materials and biotechnology, additive manufacturing such as 3-D printing, circular economy, digital technologies, and new markets and technologies for existing core businesses.

In its selection of start-ups, Covestro primarily focuses on businesses in Series A and Series B financing rounds. “Our clear focus is set on scaling up businesses that are still young, but not entirely new. However, we are not ruling out any cooperations with start-ups at an earlier stage; for this we use our proven Open Innovation approach,” explains Dietrich Firnhaber, Head of Strategy and Portfolio Development at Covestro. Covestro intends to invest up to five million euros in initial financing rounds per project and, in individual cases, will participate in subsequent follow-up financing. The Board of Management must approve the financing project; there are no plans to set up a stand-alone fund for the venture activities.

Covestro made its first venture capital investment last year and took a stake in the German start-up Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies GmbH as part of a Series B financing round. Together with the young venture, Covestro plans to actively promote the development of an international infrastructure for hydrogen as an alternative source of energy.

Start-ups and scale-up companies can obtain further information on Covestro Venture Capital (COVeC) and the respective contact persons on our website: www.covestro.com/venturecapital

AboutCovestro:

With 2019 sales of EUR 12.4 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 17,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2019.

This press release is available for download from the Covestro press server at www.covestro.com. A Photo is available there for download as well. Please acknowledge the source of any pictures used.

Find more information at: www.covestro.com

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Covestro

Covestro and North cooperate in the development of smart glasses

Mumbai 11^th November,2019 :- Augmented Reality (AR) is currently one of the hottest development topics in consumer electronics. This topic has already been hyped as the next game changer like the smartphone in our daily life. Smart glasses are the entrance step towards AR devices.

Canada-based start-up North is a pioneer in this market by launching the first commercial smart glasses called Focals® that look like everyday glasses. One of the many challenges with developing such complex devices is not sacrificing form factor for functionality, thus maintaining the appearance of standard glasses. Covestro’s Bayfol® HX products offer cutting edge solutions to enable high performing yet design-appealing smart glass products.

Since the inception of Focals®, Covestro has been the strategic supplier of tailored materials for North’s diffractive optical solutions. “North is engaging with Covestro in development efforts involving the use of certain Covestro customized photopolymer films, to obtain excellent optical performance and outstanding cosmetic appearance in seethrough AR applications on North devices,” said Stefan Alexander, Vice President, Advanced R&D at North.

Extended battery life through photopolymer films

A challenge with all mobile computing platforms is battery life, which Covestro’s photopolymer helps maximize. "In mobile applications where battery life is decisive, low energy consuming devices can be realized with Bayfol® HX film," explained Dr. Friedrich-Karl Bruder, Head of Application Development Holographic LightGuiding at Covestro. “This is due to the distinct feature of volume holograms recorded into our film that allows a high diffraction efficiency for light guiding and light redirection which can be tuned to almost 100 percent.”

Thanks to its long-standing expertise, Covestro is well positioned to provide innovative solutions in holography technology and photopolymer chemistry. "Our experience built over the past decade enables solutions for specific requirements,” said Thomas Roelle, Head of Raw Materials for Holographic LightGuiding at Covestro. “Covestro’s infrastructure is set up to translate complex optical needs into viable material solutions on an industrial scale."

About Focals®:

Focals® are a pair of custom-built smart glasses with a transparent, holographic display that only the wearer can see. This display floats an arm’s length in front of you and connects you to the people you care about, the information you need and the places you want to go. Focals® let you see and respond to texts, get turn-by-turn directions, check the weather, request a taxi, talk to Amazon Alexa and more — seamlessly and immediately. The glanceable and minimalist interface gives you control over what’s happening in your digital world without pulling you away from what’s in front of you. Starting at 599 USD, Focals® come in three colors (Black, Tortoise, and Grey Fade) and offer either prescription or non-prescription lenses. Each shipment includes Loop, Charging Case and Sun Clips.

About North:

North builds products that change the way you engage with our world. North’s latest product, Focals® was announced in October 2018 and is now sold in Flagship Showrooms in Brooklyn and Toronto, in Pop-up Showrooms around the country and via the new Focals® Showroom App. Founded in 2012 by three graduates of the University of Waterloo's mechatronics engineering program, Stephen Lake, Matthew Bailey and Aaron Grant, North has grown to a world-leading team of engineers, researchers, designers and creators. North has raised over $170M USD to date from investors including the Amazon Alexa Fund, Intel Capital and more.

About Covestro:     

With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. The company is very well established in India with three manufacturing facilities across the country at Greater Noida, Ankleshwar and Cuddalore. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,800 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2018.

Find more information at: www.covestro.in

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CovestroGroup

Covestro (India) launches its 4th edition of #STEM4Girls in Greater Noida and will reach out to more than 1200 girls

New Delhi, 7^th November 2019: Covestro, one of the world’s leading producers of advanced and high-performance polymers has successfully commenced the first phase of #STEM4GirlsFestival2019 in Greater Noida starting from today. The initiative will continue till 9th November in Greater Noida with around 300 girl students joining each day and will subsequently expand to other cities like Dharampur, Ankleshwar, Cuddalore and Mumbai. Overall around 4000 girls will be part of this year’s #STEM4Girls edition. #STEM4Girls is an initiative of Covestro to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education among girl students between the age of 11-14 years.

As science becomes increasingly crucial for tackling the world’s issues, Covestro strongly believes that every girl needs STEM, and STEM needs girls. STEM4Girls aims at empowering thousands of girls every year across the globe to bring a positive change in society.

“In India, women are mostly understated in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. With STEM4Girls Initiative, we at Covestro India believe in encouraging young girls to build a career in STEM. It is an initiative to capture the interest of girls and get them thinking about the possibilities of careers in STEM in order to build a brighter future. We aim to enhance awareness among teachers and students about the value of learning, with a special focus on STEM. Covestro intends to help revolutionize the future of girls in the field of STEM,” said Ajay Durrani, Managing Director, Covestro (India) Private Limited.

Covestro (India) has been working towards empowering the girl child in line with the Government’s mission of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao through STEM Learning Workshop for girls in partnership with Chandra Mohan Foundation since 2016. The STEM initiative started with just 100 students in the year 2016 and has received immense success over the years with the workshop empowering over 4500 girls today in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

About Covestro:

With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. The company is very well established in India with three manufacturing facilities across the country at Greater Noida, Ankleshwar and Cuddalore. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,800 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2018.

Find more information at: www.covestro.in

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CovestroGroup

Forward-looking statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. 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 Covestro’s public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Covestro India welcomes Government’s move to implement quality standardization of medical devices in India

Mumbai, October 30, 2019: Covestro, one of the world’s leading producers of advanced and high-performance polymers has welcomed the health ministry’s attention to improve safety and quality of medical devices under a single regulatory framework for all medical devices under Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). India has approximately 800 medical device manufacturers, but standard regulation for materials used in medical devices still remains a major concern for the health sector. Currently, only 37 categories of medical devices are regulated in India under the  Indian Medical Device Rule (IMDR 2017). India’s medical devices industry has grown from $2.2 billion to $ 5.2 billion at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.8%.

Covestro India urges the government to chalk out a roadmap for improving the safety of medical device end-users and patients with inputs from industry experts and associations. “Since medical devices are vital to life, there is a serious need to draw mandatory guidelines to be met by every manufacturer and importer of medical devices. Advancements in medical technology require innovation in materials that help break new ground in safety and Covestro has been making healthcare future-ready with innovations in versatile polycarbonates used for diverse medical and wellness devices with direct patient contact”, says Mr. Anand Srinivasan, Head Of Polycarbonates, Covestro India.

“Covestro has been providing polycarbonate material solutions to global medical device manufacturers for over 50 years . Formulation consistency, a reliable global supply network, a broad portfolio of biocompatible medical grades fulfilling ISO 10993 standards, along with strong techincal and regulatory support are provided to device manufacturers worldwide.  This helps our customers keep up with tightening medical device industry regulations while delivering innovativeproducts, including wearable devices and self administered drug delivery, for the treatment of chronic diseases,” said Dr Douglas Hamilton, Global Marketing Leader of Healthcare Industry, Polycarbonate Division.                                                                                      

Covestro India is also making efforts to bring stakeholders of the healthcare community onto a common platform to help bring focus on increased safety of patients using medical devices. Through various initiatives, Covestro India aims to bring attention to the characterization and testing methodologies, manufacturing practices, product standards, scientific protocols, compliance criteria, ingredient specification, labeling and other technical aspects of policy criteria.

About Covestro:              

With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. The company is very well established in India with three manufacturing facilities across the country at Greater Noida, Ankleshwar and Cuddalore. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,800 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2018.

Find more information at: www.covestro.in

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CovestroGroup

Covestro (India) in Collaboration with ARCH Foundation launches 6 new Brighter World Labs in Cuddalore

Cuddalore. S eptember 6, 2019: Covestro (India), a leading producer of advanced and high-performance polymers in India and around the world, today announced the launch of 6 new Brighter World Labs for students in Cuddalore. In collaboration with ARCH Foundation, Project Brighter World Labs aims at promoting scientific reasoning among children and creating a new generation of analytical thinkers.

In India, only 29% of children attend private schools, while the remaining join government or state - funded educational institutes that  have zero or exceptionally low fees and ride on a host of problems. With Brighter World Lab, a holistic and pioneering intervention, Covestro (India) tries to ensure that each child is brought closer to science and to add meaningful and long-lasting experiences aiming to create a life-changing impact on the less privileged section of the society.

Speaking at the inaugration, Mr. Ajay Durrani, Managing Director, Covestro (India) said, “At Covestro, we truly believe that education is fundamental right and it should be available to all. Our vision for Brighter World Lab is to ignite scientific interest in children so that they can learn through discovery and connect scientific knowledge of text book to the real world. We realized that setting up good infrastructure is not guaranteed enough that it will have a direct academic benefit on students in government schools and thus the whole idea of project Brighther World Lab has derived because we feel that there is a vast difference between reading from a text book and experiencing it first-hand.”

“We at Arch Development Foundation, believe that each child deserves opportuites and exposure in order to showcase their talent and that’s were the whole idea of Brighter World Lab came into existence. With Brighter World Labs, we tend to create projects which can enrich the world in a brighter way. With Covestro (India), the whole idea of Brighter World Labs got conceptualised and executed in a very great way and we look forward for many such initaitives in furture.” said Sonkee Shah, CEO, ARCH Development Foundation.

Initiated in 2017, project Brighter World Lab was launched with installations of 10 Maths and Science laboratories in four cities- Greater Noida, Ankleshwar, Mumbai and Cuddalore. In 2018, the project became more formiddable after collaborating with the ARCH Foundation and with addition of 20 Brighter World Labs. With 2019, the expansion and growth plan for project Brighter World Lab has become more comphrensive and 20 more Brighter Labs  have been added in Greater Noida, Ankleshwar, Mumbai and Cuddalore.

About Covestro:

With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. 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, cons truction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. The company is very well established in India with three manufacturing facilities across the country at Greater Noida, Ankleshwar and Cuddalore. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,800 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2018.

Find more information at: www.covestro.in

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CovestroGroup

Covestro (India) launches The Uberslashies Dialogue with Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation around #EndPlasticWaste celebrating World Environment Week 2019.

Photo Caption: L&R-Mr. Rishi Agarwal, Founder, Safai Bank – an initiative that encourages students to collect and deposit plastic packaging, Ms. Shaan Lalwani, Founder Coco – a natural and non-toxic home cleaning products company, Mr. Ajay Mishra, Founder, Biocrux - a PET Bottle Flaking Machine, Mr. Tushar Pawar , DMC, Director (Solid Waste Mgmt.) ,Ms. Ritu Deshmukh Principal, Bharatiya Vidyapeeth’s College of Architecture, Mr. Ajay Durrani, Managing Director, Covestro (Indi

Mumbai, June 17, 2019: Covestro (India) kick-started The Uberslashies Dialogue - an interactive discussion between students, academia, civil society and experts working in the area of plastic waste mitigation. Mr. Tushar Pawar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation graced the occasion held at Bharatiya Vidyapeeth’s College of Architecture, Navi Mumbai in conjunction with Mumbai Sustainability Centre.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Ajay Durrani, Managing Director (India) said; “It is always fascinating to come back to the classroom and interact with the students on plastic waste management.  The keen interest that the future generation is taking in circular economy, is bound to make an impact. The aim of the Dialogue is to interact with the students at different levels, explaining ways of contributing towards a brighter world. 

Today, individuals can be part of a social organization and create awareness. At the same time, it is important for cities and industries to find ways to #EndPlasticWaste through better waste management as well as research in new sustainable materials. The Uberslashies Dialogue is to spark self realisation and look at creative ways to view waste as a resource in the circular economy system.”

The event organised during World Environment Week 2019, focussed on four of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)  around Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11), Climate Action (Goal 13), Life Below Water (Goal 14) and Partnerships for the Goals(Goal17). The speakers included Ms. Ritu Deshmukh Principal, Bharatiya Vidyapeeth’s College of Architecture,  Mr. Ajay Mishra, Founder, Biocrux - a PET Bottle Flaking Machine, Ms. Shaan Lalwani, Founder Coco – a natural and non-toxic home cleaning products company and Mr. Rishi Agarwal, Founder, Safai Bank – an initiative that encourages students to collect and deposit plastic packaging.

“It is great to see this generation of young people involved in problem solving and coming up solutions to #EndPlasticWaste. We need to empower young minds through dialogues like this to create sustainable impactful solutions. We are seeing a positive shift in the thought process of people - they have started feeling the responsibility of keeping their city clean and this is why Navi Mumbai is consistently ranked among the top 10 cleanest cities in India.”

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation is also ranked 7^th across India and 1^st in Maharashtra. This was possible only because of teamwork and most importantly because of the public support. Without the support of different stakeholders, no Corporation can achieve the goals of cleanliness in the city” said Mr. Tushar Pawar.

The Uberslashies Dialogue began with speakers talking about their experiences around plastic waste and Mr. Pawar explaining measures and campaigns undertaken by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation in the area of solid waste management to be ‘the city of the future’. He also mentioned public art being designed with post consumer waste and the building of a community space and toilet with recycled and sustainable material. All the particpants of the Dialogue then participated in a design thinking process to come up with solutions in and around Navi Mumbai.

About Covestro:

With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. The company is very well established in India with three manufacturing facilities across the country at Greater Noida, Ankleshwar and Cuddalore. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,800 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2018.

Find more information at: www.covestro.in and www.covestro.com

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CovestroGroup

Newly Expanded Production Line in Covestro Taiwan to Serve Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) Market

Capacity expansion in Changhua Site marks milestone

l   Production capacity increased by 30%

l   Part of company’s global TPU expansion following steps in the US and Japan

Mumbai,, Thursday, 16th May 2019: Covestro, one of the world’s leading polymer providers, announced today the completion of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) capacity expansion at its Changhua manufacturing site in Taiwan. This comes after the successful expansion in New Martinsville in the US and the takeover of the majority of the Japan Joint Venture, all happening within 12 months. With the expansion, the site’s production capacity increased by 30%, an important step to benefit from the growing demands in the APAC region. TPU is a highly versatile elastomer that offers both superior performance as well as flexibility. It has various applications from footwear, automotive all the way to IT. Changhua site’s proximity to ASEAN is also an advantage as it gives Covestro the upper hand, especially in industries such as footwear.

The global TPU market is expected to grow at 6% in the forecast period 2017 to 2022,and the majority of such growth will come from the APAC region. “One of our strategies is to participate in this growth with our capacity expansion,” said Dr. Stephan Ehlers, Head of TPU Production & Technology. “It will allow us to better serve our customers, meet the rising market demands and also sustain our strong presence in the APAC region.”

“The Changhua site is Covestro’s largest TPU production site in Asia, supported by Covestro’s APAC TPU Research and Development Center,” said Dr. Thomas Roemer, Global Head of Thermoplastic Polyurethanes. “With the capacity expansion, we will cater to the market’s needs in APAC with diverse and innovative products, such as bio-based TPU.”

Excellent properties for different product variants

TPU has several outstanding properties, including light weight, comfortability, high abrasion resistance, high shear strength, high elasticity, recyclability and resistance to oil and grease. These qualities therefore make it a sensible and appealing replacement for certain material solutions, which in turn further boosts its market demand.

For instance, in the footwear sector, TPU can be used for several parts, such as uppers, shanks, insole, midsole, outsole, heel cups as well as logo on shoes. Knitting technology is increasingly being adapted for the uppers on sports shoes – a single knitting process allows a stylish design while saving material use  per pair of shoes. To catch up with this trend, Covestro has taken a further step forward to develop this unique, innovative TPU fiber that can be seamlessly integrated into the state-of-the-art knitting technology for footwear applications.

Covestro has had roots in Taiwan for decades and serves as one of the most important innovation partners for the IT and shoe industries. Meanwhile, with more and more footwear supply chains moving to ASEAN, Taiwan now has the advantage of being close to these nations. “We look forward to best utilising and showcasing Taiwan’s innovation potential to further create synergy and in return, create product that push the boundaries of technology,” said Michael Lee, Managing Director of Covestro Taiwan.

About Covestro:

With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. 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, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health, and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites around the globe and as of the end of 2018 employed approximately 16,800 people (full-time equivalents).

This press release is available for download from the Covestro press server at www.covestro.com. Photos are available there for download as well. Please acknowledge the source of any pictures used.

For more information please see https://www.covestro.tw/zh-tw