BASF starts new Chinese Ultramid production plant
May 07, 2015 - China
German chemicals manufacturer BASF opened its new Ultramid (polyamide 6 and 6/6.6) polymerisation plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Shanghai, China.
“The new plant, with a capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year, will further strengthen BASF’s local production and supply network and better serve the growing market in Asia Pacific,” a BASF press release informed.
The plant was 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 its partners.
At this location, BASF also has production plants for polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF) and polyisocyanate (Basonat) and an automotive coatings plant operated by BASF’s joint-venture company, BASF Shanghai Coatings Co., Ltd.
“With more than 60 years of experience, BASF is the leading supplier of high quality polyamide and polyamide intermediates for the engineering plastics, film, fibre and monofilament industry,” it said.
The line of products include Ultramid B (polyamide 6), Ultramid C (polyamide 6/6.6 copolymer), Ultramid A (polyamide 6.6) and Ultramid S Balance (polyamide 6.10).
BASF also operates Ultramid polymerisation plants in Germany, Belgium, USA and Brazil.
“This is the first investment in polyamide polymerisation for BASF in Asia Pacific and shows our strong commitment to this market,” said Dr. Kurt Bock, chairman of BASF.
“The innovative production setup enables us to respond to our customers’ needs even quicker with more flexibility,” Dr. Bock added.
“The demand for polyamide products in the engineering plastics, fibre and film industries will continue to grow strongly, particularly in China,” he informed.
“With the local production facility, we are well-positioned to support our customers’ strong growth and help them to develop innovative products,” also said Dr. Albert Heuser, president, Greater China, BASF.
BASF has been a committed partner to Greater China since 1885 and with major investments in Nanjing, Shanghai and Chongqing, BASF is one of the largest foreign investors in the Chinese chemical industry.
It also manages the BASF Asia Pacific Innovation Campus in Shanghai as a research and development hub for the Asia Pacific region.
In Greater China, BASF posted sales of over €5.5 billion in 2014 and employed 8,033 people as of the end of that year. (AR)