BASF starts construction on its new 50,000 ton/year formic acid plant in Geismar, Louisiana; plant expected to be complete by mid-2014, will be only one of its kind in North America, will allow company to serve North and South American markets

Andrew Rogers

GEISMAR, Louisiana , October 24, 2012 (press release) – With Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal in attendance, BASF today broke ground on a world scale production plant for formic acid at the company's manufacturing site in Geismar, Louisiana. With an annual capacity of 50,000 tons, the new formic acid plant will create 20 permanent jobs and an estimated 250 jobs during the construction phase.

This new facility, expected to be complete by mid-2014, will be the 23rd plant in BASF's largest North American chemical complex located on the 2,600-acre site in Ascension Parish, and the third significant investment in the past two years. BASF completed a new methylamines plant last year at the site that created 11 new jobs, and a surfactants plant starting up in 2013 will create an additional 45 new jobs.

"BASF is one of the largest economic drivers in our state, and projects with the company have yielded over $300 million in new capital investment and over 400 new jobs for Louisianians since 2009," said Gov. Jindal. "BASF could have invested in other states, but they are choosing to expand right here in Louisiana because we have a great business climate, a strong transportation infrastructure and the best workers in the world."

BASF's formic acid plant in Geismar will be the only one of its kind in North America and will allow the company to serve strategic markets in North and South America better. BASF's customers use formic acid as an eco-friendly solution in a wide range of applications such as animal feed preservatives, roads and runway de-icing, household and industrial cleaning, pharmaceutical and other chemical intermediates, and promotion of oil and gas extraction.

"This new plant further strengthens our position as a leading supplier of chemistry for sustainable solutions," said Tom Yura, BASF's Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Geismar site. "This investment also demonstrates our commitment to the future growth of this site and our employees in Geismar."

To secure the project, Louisiana Economic Development helped BASF qualify for a Modernization Tax Credit. BASF also is expected to utilize the state's Enterprise Zone and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.

BASF's Geismar site employs more than 1,500 direct and contract employees. For more information about BASF's formic acid, visit www.intermediates.basf.com/chemicals/formic-acid/index.

BASF - The Chemical Company

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 16,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $20 billion in 2011. For more information about BASF's North American operations, visit www.basf.us.

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine 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. Our products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring healthy food and nutrition and helping to improve the quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about EUR 73.5 billion in 2011 and had more than 111,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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