Rhein Chemie Corp. Appoints New President

Wolfgang U. Kober has been appointed president of Rhein Chemie Corp., an international manufacturer and supplier of specialty additive products. In this leadership position, Mr. Kober will be responsible for guiding the continued growth and development of Rhein Chemie in North America. In addition, Mr. Kober will serve as vice president of Rhein Chemie Corporation's parent company, Bayer Corporation.

Kober joined Rhein Chemie Rheinau, in Mannheim, Germany, in 1989 where he most recently held the position of Head of Corporate Planning. Prior to joining Rhein Chemie Rheinau, Mr. Kober worked with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems Technology and Innovational Research in Karlsruhe and with Hewlett Packard, in Waldbronn, Germany.

Mr. Kober holds a degree in Business Administration from the College of Economics at Pforzheim, as well as a degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Technology at Karlsruhe.

Rhein Chemie Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, manufactures and sells additives and specialty products for the rubber, plastics and lubricant oil industries. The corporation's headquarters production facilities and employees are located in Trenton, NJ.

Bayer Corp. is a research-based company with businesses in health care, life sciences and chemicals. The company had 1998 sales of $8.1 billion and employs more than 23,000 people. 1999 capital investment and R&D expenditures are projected to total $1.6 billion. Bayer Corp., with headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA, is a member of the worldwide Bayer Group, a $31 billion chemicals and health care group based in Leverkusen, Germany.