The Kanawha Valley is home to a Bayer MaterialScience polyurethane manufacturing plant and a technical center, both situated in the city of South Charleston.  Millions of pounds of polyols - a polyurethane raw material - flow from the plant annually, and they are eventually used in such consumer products as automotive seating foam, furniture foam, footwear and recreational items.

Bayer MaterialScience has approximately 164 employees assigned to the South Charleston manufacturing plant and technical center facilities.  The manufacturing plant is a state-of-the-art polyether polyol production facility, and the technical center has research groups for global polyurethane specialties, polyethers process, flexible foam and analytical chemistry research. As part of over 120 sites throughout the world, these facilities are major contributors to Bayer MaterialScience's worldwide leadership in polyurethane production and technology.