Bayer Crop Science Kansas City, MO The Greater Kansas City Foreign Trade Zone Subzone No. 15 D Approved: September 11, 1989 Background Bayer Crop Science is an international operating company that manufacturers agriculture and specialty chemicals designed to help farmers meet the world’s increasing demand for food, feed, fiber and energy crops. The Bayer manufacturing plant in Kansas City, MO has a 240-acre facility (about a third of which are developed) that produces numerous top-selling seed treatments, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Their 825,000 sq. ft. FTZ manufacturing facility employs approximately 650 FTE’s and is the largest manufacturing site for Bayer Crop Science in North America. Their manufacturing plant is supported by 725,000 sq. ft. of offsite “Annex” space at the nearby Carefree Industrial Park (Zone Site No. 11) for admission of foreign sourced products and storage of finished products for export or entry. Foreign Trade Zone Story In 1988, Bayer decided to submit an application for special subzone status. At that time, the raw materials sourced abroad was approximately 10%. Zone procedures would exempt duty payments on the foreign materials exported and defer duty payments or reduce the percent for finished goods inverted tariffs for domestic shipments. In addition, as a manufacturing company within a subzone environment, duty would be eliminated on waste, scrap and yield loss. Bayer’s application for subzone status indicated the zone savings will improve the plant’s international competitiveness. Today, Bayer Crop Science is an innovative manufacturing subzone aligned to the long-term needs of the agricultural markets. Bayer admits foreign sourced materials into the subzone utilizing a 3rd party software system. The system allows production and distribution to handle literally thousands of transactions annually. Manufacturing can consist of up to 11 layers within the Bill of Materials. Once product is produced in the form required, Bayer will export approximately 50% of their products and enter the balance. Bayer’s Mission: “Bayer: Science for A Better Life” A growing world population, shrinking arable land and increasingly frequent extreme weather conditions – these are just a few of the challenges that we at Bayer face every day. The role of agriculture is more significant than ever before. Our solutions help farmers provide adequate nutrition to our growing population while maintaining the health and sustainability of our environment.
Transcript
Bayer Crop Science Kansas City, MO The Greater Kansas City Foreign Trade ZoneSubzone No. 15 DApproved: September 11, 1989
Background Bayer Crop Science is an international operating company that manufacturers agriculture and specialty chemicals designed to help farmers meet the world’s increasing demand for food, feed, fiber and energy crops. The Bayer manufacturing plant in Kansas City, MO has a 240-acre facility (about a third of which are developed) that produces numerous top-selling seed treatments, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Their 825,000 sq. ft. FTZ manufacturing facility employs approximately 650 FTE’s and is the largest manufacturing site for Bayer Crop Science in North America. Their manufacturing plant is supported by 725,000 sq. ft. of o�site “Annex” space at the nearby Carefree Industrial Park (Zone Site No. 11) for admission of foreign sourced products and storage of finished products for export or entry.
Foreign Trade Zone StoryIn 1988, Bayer decided to submit an application for special subzone status. At that time, the raw materials sourced abroad was approximately 10%. Zone procedures would exempt duty payments on the foreign materials exported and defer duty payments or reduce the percent for finished goods inverted tari�s for domestic shipments. In addition, as a manufacturing company within a subzone environment, duty would be eliminated on waste, scrap and yield loss. Bayer’s application for subzone status indicated the zone savings will improve the plant’s international competitiveness.
Today, Bayer Crop Science is an innovative manufacturing subzone aligned to the long-term needs of the agricultural markets. Bayer admits foreign sourced materials into the subzone utilizing a 3rd party software system. The system allows production and distribution to handle literally thousands of transactions annually. Manufacturing can consist of up to 11 layers within the Bill of Materials. Once product is produced in the form required, Bayer will export approximately 50% of their products and enter the balance.
Bayer’s Mission: “Bayer: Science for A Better Life”
A growing world population, shrinking
arable land and increasingly frequent
extreme weather conditions – these are
just a few of the challenges that we at
Bayer face every day. The role of
agriculture is more significant than ever
before. Our solutions help farmers provide
adequate nutrition to our growing
population while maintaining the health
and sustainability of our environment.
FTZ Benefits
Utilizing the FTZ program has provided significant benefits to Bayer’s U.S. operations. Kansas City is the largest manufacturing site for Bayer Crop Science in North America. The FTZ has allowed for increased investment within the U.S., resulting in Bayer producing additional product lines in Kansas City, instead of importing from foreign markets. Without the FTZ, it is quite possible all manufacturing would be in Germany or at a foreign third party.
Bayer has secured additional production contracts because of their ability to source raw materials from foreign markets, produce in the U.S., and export the product duty free or pay an inverted duty on the product that stays in the U.S. In addition, the time movement of the materials are improved by Direct Delivery and weekly entry, allowing Bayer to be more competitive and reduce the delivery cycle along with reducing inventory levels.
As an organization, Bayer reviews domestic supplier options first and attempts to source domestically as much as possible, but domestic sourcing is not always feasible in the chemical industry. Currency fluctuations, along with the FTZ program, give Bayer the opportunity to be flexible with sourcing decisions based on global currency rates and the U.S. dollar. In recent times, this flexibility has increased domestic content and company profit when the US dollar was trading lower than the currencies of foreign suppliers’ countries.
Recent Activity
Having the FTZ designation and the recognized savings has allowed the plant to be chosen for additional production instead of a foreign location. Manufacturing and shipment activity has increased and will continue to increase at the Bayer location, and the company has invested within the site for additional formulation. The increased production will include additional square footage to be activated for storage, capital investment on the site for production and possible job growth.
As an example of the investment in the facility, Bayer recently added a new packaging hub that included a robotic dual palletizer, modular conveyor belts and a no down-time labeler. The advanced technology and robotics has made current employees’ tasks more e�cient and increased output.
Without the FTZ, it is quite possible all manufacturing would be in Germany or at a foreign third party.
Community Involvement
The Bayer Kansas City and team members are actively involved in in the Kansas City region and focus on strengthening communities, improving education, and advancing science.
Environmental ResponsibilityBayer and its employees take great pride in the facility’s excellent environmental record and the systems and initiatives that are in place to ensure that legacy continues. Their advanced wastewater treatment system ensures water leaving their site meets strict state standards; likewise, air emitted from their processes passes through sophisticated air pollution controls. They work constantly to re-use and recycle everything possible, whether process chemicals, scrap metal, wooden pallets or o�ce paper. Bayer strives every day to reduce their environmental footprint.
Bayer was recently recognized for their environmental responsibility e�orts. On April 11, 2018, Bayer Crop Science in Kansas City, MO received the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 Pollution Prevention Award during ceremonies at the Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference. Bayer Crop Science’s facility in Kansas City took steps to reduce the wastewater generated from the washout of equipment used to formulate and package products. As a result, 25 percent less wastewater was generated, while the amount of products packaged increased by 14 percent. In addition to reducing the amount of wastewater generated, the site’s process improvements meant less personnel exposure, less labor and time, and a decrease in the amount of wastewater that had to be shipped o�site for treatment.
Safety CommitmentBayer believes the safety of their neighbors and employees is always first priority. The Kansas City site takes a proactive approach to safety, conducting safety audits, training sessions and detailed risk assessments on a regular basis. The employees work together diligently to ensure that their technically sophisticated, computer-based production systems operate optimally and safely. Their goal is zero incidents and zero accidents.
Community CommitmentBayer in Kansas City actively supports the civic, social, educational and cultural needs of the community. The site’s firm commitment is demonstrated by the strength of its Community Advisory Panel. Through regular panel meetings, Kansas City maintains an open, collaborative dialogue with community members that include neighborhood leaders, local fire and police department members, and environmental stakeholders.
Bayer in Kansas City is involved locally with Harvesters Food Network, School Day at the K, Blue River Clean-up, Kansas City Corporate Challenge, Youth Ag Summit, Bring Your Kids to Work Day, Bayer USA Foundations, Career Day, multiple internships, and STEM and AG education initiatives that includes Bayer’s award-winning Making Science Make Sense Program. These education programs seek to advance science literacy, multiple internship programs and many local charity groups.
Bayer Crop Science has additional global initiatives, including Bayer Bee Care Centers that focus specifically on health and protection of pollinators, especially honey bees, as well as food and nutrition programs that support food banks and other community organizations.
Bayer Crop Science recently received the EPA Region 7 Pollution Prevention Award
“Bayer is a long-standing Kansas City, Missouri company that has continued to add jobs and investment to our City. We’ve partnered with Bayer on several expansions and are thrilled about their growth and success in our community.”
BOB LANGENKAMP, PRESIDENT & CEO Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, MO
“At Bayer, we address some of the world’s most pressing global challenges and continue to develop new solutions . The population is constantly growing and its age is increasing. This is why we need high quality food in su�cient quantities . Through shared vision of integrated agriculture o�erings, Bayer is working towards creating a global leader in agriculture .”
