BASF to build engineering plastics and TPU plants and new Verbund site in China

BASF has announced it is planning to build an engineering plastics compounding plant and a TPU plant at the company’s proposed integrated chemical production Verbund site in Zhanjiang, China.

By 2022, the new engineering plastics compounding plant will supply an additional capacity of 60,000 tonnes 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 tonnes 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 utilise automated packaging, high0tech control systems, and automated guided vehicles.

Dr Stephan Kothrade, President Functions Asia Pacific, and President and Chairman Greater China for BASF, said: “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.”

“The project is moving forward swiftly and customers in southern China will soon benefit from these innovative products to meet their immediate needs.”

Raimar Jahn, President of BASF’s Performance materials division, said: “We want to improve our support for customers in the southern China market and around the world. We will do this by establishing the new plants close to growing customer industries, and through improvements in efficiency realised from our smart manufacturing approach.”

“This will increase our speed of innovation and the efficiency of our services. In particular, electric and electronics companies and automotive manufacturers are turning to BASF to help them address trends such as the electrification of cars and miniaturisation of electronic devices.”