BASF to Establish an Integrated Hub for PUR Manufacturing in Dahej, India

Mumbai, India -- BASF India Limited will invest ?50 million to set up a new chemical production site at the Dahej Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) located on the west coast of India in Gujarat.

The new site will be an integrated hub for polyurethane manufacturing and will also house production facilities for care chemicals and polymer dispersions for coatings and paper. With this new production site, BASF aims to ensure local supply for growing markets and industries such as appliances, footwear, automotive, construction, adhesives, architectural coatings, paper and personal care. The start of production is planned for 2014.

"With its robust local industries, India is set to become a pillar of growth in Asia Pacific. The countrys changing demographic profile and the resulting need for improved quality of life are driving increasing market demand. With the new manufacturing facility, we will be able to serve our customers better by developing solutions that meet their individual needs as well as strengthen their competitive advantage," said Dr. Martin Brudermueller, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of BASF SE, responsible for Asia Pacific.

"The Dahej site complements the existing manufacturing set-up of BASF in India and will support and contribute to the growth of the Indian chemical industry," said Mr. Prasad Chandran, Chairman and Managing Director, BASF India Limited. "The location offers excellent investment conditions and a favorable business environment due to the proximity to raw materials as well as customers. With this new project, we expect to grow our businesses in the important northern and western regions of India", he added.

The site will employ more than 250 people at full capacity, primarily in operations. With shared infrastructure and state-of-the-art production systems, the site will also provide resource efficient BASF technologies for the conservation of energy and water. The sites advanced design takes advantage of the latest technologies from BASF facilities around the world and ensures safe and responsible operations.

The integrated polyurethane facility will produce Elastollan TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) Cellasto NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) parts and Polyurethane Systems, which is supported by new production facilities for important precursors, comprising Polyetherols and Polyesterols plants as well as a plant for processing crude MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate).

The care chemicals facility at the new Dahej site will produce surfactants largely for home and personal care. These surfactants will also add value to formulation technology applications including agrochemicals, textiles and emulsion polymerisation. With BASFs global growth strategy for its care chemicals business, the Dahej site adds to BASFs production footprint in one of the fastest growing emerging markets.

The polymer dispersions facility at the site will produce Acronal and Styrofan, key ingredients for architectural coatings, adhesives, and construction, Styronal and Basonal for paper coating and Basoplast for sizing. BASF currently produces dispersions at an existing plant in Mangalore.

About BASF

BASF is the one of the worlds leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF combines economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation we enable our customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society. The companys products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring healthy food and nutrition and helping to improve the quality of life. It has summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about ?3.5 billion in 2011 and had more than 111,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS) London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).

Source: BASF