BASF to Invest in Polyurethanes Production in India

BASF India Limited will invest €150 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. The project will be financed by BASF India Limited through internal accruals and loans.

"With its robust local industries, India is set to become a pillar of growth in Asia Pacific. The country's 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 site's 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 an MDI splitter.

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 BASF's global growth strategy for its care chemicals business, the Dahej site adds to BASF's 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. The plant will predominantly serve customers located in the northern and western parts of India. BASF currently produces dispersions at an existing plant in Mangalore.

About BASF in India

For more than a century, BASF has been partnering India's progress with its vast knowledge in the field of chemistry and high quality products that cater to a wide range of industries. As a dependable partner to stakeholders, BASF offers innovative, hi-tech and safe solutions. BASF in India is currently engaged in the business of manufacturing & marketing of Styropor®, tanning agents, leather chemicals and auxiliaries, crop protection chemicals, textile chemicals, dispersions and specialty chemicals, performance plastics, automotive and coil coatings, construction chemicals and polyurethane systems. BASF is also involved in marketing a wide range of intermediates, catalysts and other chemicals for life sciences, chemical and allied industries in India.