Basf to build engineering plastics and thermoplastic polyurethanes plants in China

BASF plans to build an engineering plastics compounding plant and a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) plant at the company's proposed integrated chemical production ("Verbund") site in Zhanjiang, China. These will be the first production plants to come onstream at the site.

By 2022, the new engineering plastics compounding plant will supply an additional capacity of 60,000 metric tons per year of BASF engineering plastics compounds in China. This will bring the total BASF capacity of these products in Asia Pacific to 290,000 metric tons per year. As part of the company's plan to implement a comprehensive smart manufacturing concept at the Verbund site based on cutting-edge technologies, the new plants will utilize automated packaging, high-tech control systems, and automated guided vehicles.

"Less than a year after we signed the first MoU, we are delighted to announce the first plants to be established at our smart Verbund site in Zhanjiang," said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, President Functions Asia Pacific, President and Chairman Greater China, BASF. "The project is moving forward swiftly and customers in southern China will soon benefit from these innovative products to meet their immediate needs."

General facilities for the Zhanjiang Verbund site will also be built along with the two new plants. BASF Integrated Site (Guangdong) Co. Ltd (BIG), BASF's new wholly-owned subsidiary, has been officially founded. This entity will oversee the operations of the new Verbund site, underlining BASF's commitment to the southern China market.

The growth of the TPU market, in particular for high-end applications, is driven by several factors including increasing regulatory requirements and growing customer expectations for enhanced sustainability performance in such areas as e-mobility, lightweight and automation. BASF solutions support this growth with safety-enhanced cables and wires for automation and automotive, as well as lightweight materials for consumer goods. 

BASF signed the first Memorandum of Understanding for the Verbund site with the Guangdong Provincial Government in Berlin in July 2018, and in January 2019 the company signed a Framework Agreement setting out further details of the plan. The Verbund site in Guangdong would be BASF's largest investment, estimated up to US$10 billion upon completion, and would be operated under the sole responsibility of BASF. The integrated value chain will connect upstream and downstream plants from basic chemicals to more consumer-oriented products and solutions, serving growth sectors like consumer goods or transportation. The site would ultimately be the third-largest BASF site worldwide, following Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium.

About BASF

The approximately 122,000 employees in the BASF Group work on in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. The portfolio of BASF is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €63 billion in 2018. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S.