BASF has signed an agreement with Karl Bachl Kunststoffverarbeitung GmbH & Co. KG (BACHL) for the sale of its business with Styrodur®, an insulation material made from extruded polystyrene (XPS). BACHL is one of the leading manufacturers of insulation materials in Germany, an experienced XPS producer and a long-standing Styrodur® distribution partner of BASF. The sale also includes the brand Styrodur®. Approximately 50 employees in production, marketing and sales at BASF SE are involved in this business. The affected employees will remain with BASF SE. Subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities, the completion of the sale is expected by mid-2025. The parties have agreed to keep the financial details of the transaction confidential.
“With the sale of the Styrodur® business, BASF is consistently focusing its strategy on expandable polystyrene with our well-known brands Neopor® and Styropor®,” said Dr. Klaus Ries, Head of Business Management Styrenics Europe at BASF. Already in October 2024, BASF underscored its ambition to continue growing in the European expandable polystyrene (EPS) market with the announcement of an expansion of Neopor® production capacity in Ludwigshafen by 50,000 tons to 250,000 tons per year starting in early 2027.
“We are convinced that BACHL’s experience and expertise in the XPS market will provide an optimal path into the future for the Styrodur® brand and that the agreement reached will further strengthen our partnership ,” Ries continued.
