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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) March 5, 1998
THE GEON COMPANY
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
Delaware 1-11804 34-1730488
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(State or other (Commission (IRS Employer
jurisdiction of File Number) Identification No.)
corporation)
One Geon Center, Avon Lake, Ohio 44012
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(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code 440-930-1001
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Not Applicable
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(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
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Item 5. Other Events
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The Geon Company and Bayer Corporation have entered into an agreement that
will reduce Geon's costs for raw materials it uses in the production of vinyl
chloride monomer (VCM) and provide Bayer with a long-term consumer for the
excess hydrogen chloride it produces.
Item 7(c). Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits
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Exhibit 99.1 Press Release of March 5, 1998 announcing the agreement between The
Geon Company and Bayer.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
THE GEON COMPANY
By /s/ Gregory L. Rutman
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Secretary
Dated March 12, 1998
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EXHIBIT 99.1
GEON AND BAYER ANNOUNCE ALLIANCE AND PLANS FOR
PIPELINE TO TRANSPORT HYDROGEN CHLORIDE
CLEVELAND, OHIO -- MARCH 5, 1998 -- The Geon Company (NYSE: GON) and Bayer
Corporation have entered into an agreement that will reduce Geon's costs for raw
materials it uses in the production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and provide
Bayer with a long-term consumer for the excess hydrogen chloride it produces.
Bayer will utilize a pipeline to transport anhydrous hydrogen chloride from its
plant in Baytown, Texas, to Geon's VCM plant in LaPorte, Texas. Geon is
constructing an oxychlorination facility at LaPorte to consume the anhydrous
hydrogen chloride from Bayer. Construction of both projects is under way, with
startup set for the third quarter of 1998.
Hydrogen chloride is a source of chlorine, a key raw material in the production
of VCM. The oxychlorination process at LaPorte combines ethylene with hydrogen
chloride to produce ethylene dichloride (EDC). EDC is then converted into VCM,
which is further processed into polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins and compounds.
Geon is the world leader in the development of fluid-bed oxychlorination
technology and has licensed this process worldwide.
Bayer is expanding the capacity of its Baytown plant, where it produces hydrogen
chloride as a co-product. Geon will purchase the hydrogen chloride under a
long-term contract with Bayer.
"This agreement is another important step in Geon's plan to reduce our chlorine
costs," said William F. Patient, Geon chairman and chief executive officer. "The
combination of this project with the recent startup of our chlor-alkali joint
venture with Olin Corporation (Sunbelt Chlor Alkali Partnership) means that
two-thirds of Geon's chlorine needs will be supplied by long-term economically
advantageous arrangements. Both projects were accomplished at capital costs much
lower than the cost to build chlor-alkali facilities on greenfield sites."
The Sunbelt plant is a new, 250,000-ton plant that Geon and Olin Corporation
built in McIntosh, Alabama. The plant, which started up in November 1997,
provides chlorine to Geon; Olin markets the caustic soda on behalf of the joint
venture.
Bayer Corporation is a research-based company with major businesses in health
care and life sciences, chemicals and imaging technologies. The company had 1996
sales of $9 billion and employs 24,000 people. Bayer Corporation is investing
approximately $9 billion in capital expenditures and research and development in
its U.S. operations from 1995 through the year 2000. Capital expenditures for
1996 totaled $632 million, and $621 million was spent for research and
development. Bayer Corporation, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, is a member of
the worldwide Bayer Group, a $32.4 billion chemical and pharmaceutical company
based in Leverkusen, Germany.
