Bayer MaterialScience LLC Appoints Dirk Schapeler CEO of Artificial Muscle, Inc.

Pittsburgh, PA, November 25, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Dirk Schapeler has been named chief executive officer and general manager of Artificial Muscle, Inc. (AMI), a Bayer MaterialScience LLC company. AMI is part of Bayer’s Functional Films Unit.

In this role, Schapeler will focus on growing AMI’s product portfolio of Electro Active Polymer actuators. He’s also responsible for the global team working on Electro Active Polymers at Bayer MaterialScience in Germany. Schapeler joined AMI in April 2010, following the Bayer MaterialScience acquisition of AMI. Prior to joining AMI, Schapeler was the head of the Electro Active Polymers group at Bayer MaterialScience AG in Germany. Previously, Schapeler was program manager for the Bayer MaterialScience AG New Business Group and scouted markets and applications for Electro Active Polymers.

Before joining Bayer MaterialScience, Schapeler held several program management and engineering positions at large automotive suppliers, successfully introducing innovative products to the marketplace. Schapeler studied mechanical and electrical engineering at the University of Applied Science in Karlsruhe, Germany.

AMI’s offerings include ReflexTM actuator technology, which enables high-fidelity touch feedback for touchscreens of mobile phones and other devices. This technology allows designing highly energy-efficient systems. The technology brings the sensation of touching real buttons or surfaces to products such as touchscreens in consumer electronic devices. It also provides extremely thin form factors and allows for customization of button feel. The Reflex technology based on Electro Active Polymers requires a detailed understanding and experience of polymers and films, which is Bayer MaterialScience’s core competence. This expertise is fueling further technology developments that will enable this technology to meet these and other market and application needs for highly efficient, low packaging and lightweight actuators.

Bayer MaterialScience LLC is one of the leading producers of polymers and high-performance plastics in North America and is part of the global Bayer MaterialScience business with approximately 14,300 employees at 30 production sites around the world and 2009 sales of 7.5 billion euros. The company manufactures high-tech polymer materials and develops innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical, and sports and leisure industries. Sustainability is central to Bayer MaterialScience LLC’s business and is based around the key areas of innovation, product stewardship, excellence in corporate management, social responsibility and respect for the environment.

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