BASF building new 100,000 tonnes/year Ultramid polymerization plant in Shanghai, with start up expected in 2015; company expects demand from engineering plastics, fiber and film industries to grow in coming years, particularly in China

Mathew Kearney

SHANGHAI , July 29, 2013 (press release) – BASF is building a new Ultramid® polymerization plant with a capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year in Shanghai, China. The new plant is planned to start up in 2015.

“As part of our long-term strategy, we aim to locate production close to our customers in the Asia Pacific region, so that we can better support their growth, operate more efficiently and collaborate more closely. BASF intends to grow two percentage points above the market in Asia Pacific and maintain our commitment to environmental protection as well as ensuring a positive contribution to society for a sustainable future ,” said Dr. Albert Heuser, President and Chairman Greater China and Functions Asia Pacific.

“The demand for polyamide products in the engineering plastics, fiber and film industries will grow strongly, particularly in China,” said Hermann Althoff, Senior Vice President of the Global Polyamide and Intermediates Business Unit. “The investment enables us to participate in this growth and supply our Asian customers with locally manufactured high performance products.”

The BASF wholly-owned plant will be built at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Caojing which is also home to a world scale facility for integrated isocyanates, operated by BASF and partners. bAt this location, BASF also has production plants for polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF®) and polyisocyanate (Basonat) for the coatings and furniture finishing industry and precious metal solutions for automotive catalysts.

High performance Ultramid ® products for the engineering plastics, film, fiber and monofilament industry

With more than 60 years of experience, BASF is the leading supplier of high quality polyamide and polyamide intermediates for the engineering plastics, film, fiber and monofilament industry. The line of products include Ultramid® B (polyamide 6), Ultramid® C (polyamide 6/6.6 copolymer) and Ultramid® A (polyamide 6.6). The product offerings are supplemented by technical services for our customers.

BASF operates Ultramid® polymerization plants in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; Freeport, Texas and S ã o Paulo, Brazil. The production of polyamide for film, textile and carpet fiber as well as for engineering plastics applications is integrated into BASF’s global Verbund structure with polyamide intermediates (i.e. adipic acid, anolon, caprolactam), chemical raw materials (i.e. ammonia, cyclohexane, sulfuric acid), energy, by-product recovery, logistics and other services.

About BASF

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 with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of €72.1 billion in 2012 and more than 110,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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