The Polyurethanes Business Unit of Bayer MaterialScience AG staged a workshop for designers and engineers called "PUR:Design" in Bad Honnef, Germany, on September 27 - 28, 2005.

The two-day event gave the 50 participants the chance to see the wide range of options offered by polyurethanes. It began with a guided tour of the facilities in the Polyurethanes Technical Service Centre in Leverkusen, which was followed by 16 presentations during the subsequent workshop focussing on applications in the sports and leisure, automotive, furniture, and medical technology sectors.

"The properties of polyurethanes range from rigid and solid to flexible and comfortable. Because they are lightweight, they fulfil many functions, and can be moulded into any conceivable shape, giving designers free rein to use their imagination," said Monika Brandt, an expert in polyurethanes at Bayer MaterialScience and the organiser of the workshop.