Bayer to sell Berkeley County plant

Bayer Corp. has inked a deal to sell the pigment-making unit at its Bushy Park plant to a large Japanese-owned chemical company that plans to keep the business in Berkeley County.

“It will stay, most definitely,” said Peter Lewis, spokesman for Sun Chemical Corp., which plans to finalize the sale by April 1. Terms of the deal, which was announced Tuesday, were not disclosed. It would include Bayer’s pigment-making facility and the transfer of 180 employees to Sun Chemical, Lewis said.

In a statement, Bayer said the sale of the local unit is part of its “strategy of streamlining our product portfolio and concentrating on our core businesses.”

Lewis said the division is an ideal addition for Sun Chemical because it will expand the company’s base of “high-performance” organic pigments, which are used to make coatings for the automotive, plastics and engineering industries.

Bayer employs about 700 workers at Bushy Park, including independent contractors. The company has been shedding assets and slimming down in recent months under a restructuring plan aimed at improving profits.

Previously, Bayer announced the sale of three businesses, including Haarmann & Reimerm, which has a presence at Bushy Park. Bayer also has announced plans to close a Rock Hill chemical plant this July and shift two of the divisions to Berkeley County. The move will not create any jobs.