By Rachel Au-Yong
A RESEARCH facility that sits right on the edge of the ground-breaking film technology found in gadgets like smart phones was officially opened here on Tuesday.
The Functional Films research centre set up in Pasir Ris by Bayer MaterialScience is the first of its kind the firm operates outside of its German base.
The $12 million facility will focus on researching coated high-tech films and nanotechnology that can be used in many electronic appliances. Its films, for example, are used on the screen of mobile phones. One promising area of research centres on developing 'muscle film', which can simulate an actual keyboard by vibrating as you press the typepad.
The company opted for Singapore because it has 'successfully positioned itself as a neutral country' in which to do business, said Bayer MaterialScience chief executive Patrick Thomas at yesterday's opening ceremony. It also offers a fertile ground for talent and intellectual property protection, he added. The centre employs 30 researchers.
The firm aims to open another plant in Asia around 2013, as it expects demand for polymers and films in the region to increase significantly. It already has a plant in China and one in Thailand, where the films and polymers are manufactured.
Its new plant will increase output of film in Asia by 33 per cent from the 440,000 tonnes it produces yearly. Bayer produces about 1.4 million tonnes globally.
