Largest plant in North and Middle America

Close to wildlife

A city named after a plant, or a plant named after a city? It’s a confusing point for newcomers. Employees often refer to the Bayer Industrial Park simply as “Baytown.” In reality, it is the name of the Texan city where the site is located, and by coincidence, happens to share the first three letters of the company’s name.

Next to the Gulf of Mexico: manufacturing site in Baytown, USA.

Covering 1,700 acres along the Cedar Bayou at the Gulf of Mexico, the facility with approximately 1,300 employees is the largest Bayer MaterialScience manufacturing site in the NAFTA region, comprising the USA, Canada and Mexico. Multiple petrochemical and refining facilities are located nearby.

Abandoned oil wells

The first units were built from the ground in 1970. Between 1996 and 2001, it doubled its manufacturing capacity with Bayer’s largest-ever capital expansion of 1.4 billion dollars. The current replacement value is more than 3.7 billion dollars.

What most people don’t know is that this thriving industrial landmark sits on top of what used to be a huge rice field – which later became subject to oil exploration. This isn’t too surprising, as Baytown attracted a number of oil seekers after a strike was made at nearby Tabbs Bay in 1908.

In fact, several abandoned oil wells can still be found on the park’s property today. Others were closed to construct a chlor-alkali unit and logistics warehouse.

Pelicans, goats and alligators

While the industrial park hasn’t seen any oil seekers lately, it does attract a diverse array of wildlife. Egrets, pelicans and an occasional big blue heron can be spotted along the bayou that wraps around the northwest boundary of Bayer’s property.

The company has even designated part of its land as a “greenbelt,” offering grazing leases to local farmers. If you ask employees, they will very casually tell stories about how goats have wandered aimlessly on site and, once, into the production units. And then there was the day a confused young alligator from the bayou found its way after a heavy rain storm to the water-filled ditch alongside Bayer’s main employee entrance road...