Rhein Chemie sales fall in 2002

MANNHEIM, Germany (April 2)—Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH's sales fell about 6 percent last year to $307 million as the company suffered the effects of the continued economic downturn in the U.S. Rhein Chemie derived about a third of its sales last year in the Americas compared to 54 percent in Europe and 14 percent in Asia, according to a company statement. Bayer A.G. recently halted efforts to sell off Rhein Chemie, which now operates as an independent entity within the group's Bayer Polymers A.G. subsidiary. With almost 1,100 employees worldwide, Mannheim-based Rhein Chemie supplies specialty chemical products to the rubber, polyurethanes, plastics and lubricant industries.