Bayer celebrates 150 years

Together with his friend, the dyer Johann Weskott, Friedrich Bayer (photo) founded a small company in Wuppertal. “Friedr. Bayer et comp.” produced artificial colors. The friendship between the two men eventually grew into a global chemical company.

The company was founded in Friedrich Bayer's house in Wuppertal (middle, around 1870) and the headquarters of the young company next door. The early products were fabric colors, which were considered a luxury item at the time.

Three men were employed in the dyeing operations in the first year. The oldest picture of the workforce shows the first journeyman, Heinrich Ritter (right). Twenty years later, the number of employees rose to more than 300. Today, the company employs more than 11,000.

In Elberfeld, Bayer produced the first remedy for headaches, a byproduct from its color production. Because of its performance-enhancing effect, phenacetin was often misused and later removed from the market because of its side-effects.

The color of the photos is misleading The Alizarinrotfabrik on the left bank of the Rhine produced blood-red dye. Bayer acquired the factory buildings at the end of the 19th century as its new headquarters. Even before World War I, the company was a global player with production sites on nearly all continents.

Also before World War I, Bayer received a patent for the chemical diacetylmorphine. In an international advertising campaign, the drug was promoted as remedy for fever, high blood pressure and lung diseases. It was also used as a pain reliever for injured soldiers. After World War II, the substance, better known as heroin today, was prohibited.

In 1925, Bayer became a part of IG Farben, which was involved in the production of the pesticide Zyklon B. In Auschwitz and other extermination camps, the chemical was used to kill prisoners. Concentration camp inmates were forced to work in Bayer factories, some 4,300 alone in Leverkusen in 1943.

After being re-founded in the 1950s, Bayer landed a coup: in a special lab, it began mass production of penicillin, which had been discovered by the Scotsman Alexander Fleming. Bacterial infections such as the plague, syphilis and tuberculosis no longer had to be fatal, and the medication was affordable for the masses.

That was a post-war advertising slogan. With the textile fiber Dralon, Bayer managed to make it onto the covers of fashion magazines, such as "Silberfaden" in 1959. The durable fabric continues to be used today but mostly for tablecloths and umbrellas

When the Apollo 11 spacecraft flew to the moon in 1969, a green package was onboard: aspirin. More than 11 billion tablets are sold in more than 70 countries every year, although the pain medication does carry risks for children. The highly popular drug remains a key contributor to Bayer’s annual revenues in the billions of euros.

What began in a living room 150 years ago is today a chemical park that defines the Leverkusen skyline – a company that annually generates more than 40 billion euros in revenue.