BACKGROUND

The company has a long history, having been founded by Friedrich Bayer and Johann Friedrich Weskott in 1863 in Wuppertal, Germany. From its meager beginnings as a dyestuffs factory, Bayer has grown into a multi-billion dollar international chemical and health care company. Expansion took place rapidly for Bayer. In 1865, Bayer and Weskott entered the coal tar dye business in the United States and began exporting intermediates. Further growth was achieved in 1876 with the opening of another dyestuffs factory in Moscow with the descendents of Bayer establishing the joint stock company Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedr. Bayer & Company. Additional factories soon opened in France and in 1884, under the guidance of chemist Carl Duisberg, Bayer scientists began receiving recognition for their pioneering discoveries. With the establishment of the Pharmaceutical Department in 1888, the stage was set for the most famous and historical discovery yet for Bayer. Dr. Felix Hoffman first synthesized acetylsalicylic acid in a chemically pure and stable form in 1897. Aspirin was registered as a trademark two years later in 1899; it is still the world's most popular over-the-counter pain medication. In 1925, Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedr. Bayer & Company merged with another company and became I.G. Farbenindustrie AG, which was later seized and broken up following the Second World War. Farbenfabriken Bayer AG was re-established in 1951, then changed its name to Bayer AG in 1972. The company remains Bayer AG; it reacquired the rights to the Bayer logo and trademark from Sterling Pharmaceuticals in 1986. Today, Bayer AG is ranked as the 117th largest company in the world with revenues topping $30 billion (see Appendix). With headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany and with about 350 affiliated companies worldwide, the Bayer Group is represented on every continent. Bayer AG's business organization includes healthcare, agriculture, chemicals and polymers. Within the healthcare segment, the North American Pharmaceutical Division headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, accounts for more than $10 billion in annual revenues. The division has also recently achieved many business milestones, including $1 billion in annual sales for its antibiotic Ciproflaxin in 1999 and 2000 and a growth rate of 23% in 2000, which easily outpaces the prescription drug industry as a whole (BAYER AG Homepage, 2002). Bayer's highly recognizable trademark logo will unify the individual Bayer divisions as the company will migrate to a new corporate structure on January 1, 2003, when Bayer will become a management holding company with four legally independent operating subsidiaries (A New Bayer—A New Bayer Cross, 2002).



Annals of Cases on Information Technology
SQL Tips & Techniques (Miscellaneous)
ISBN: B001KZAZTK
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 367

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