BASF strengthens its global network for pigment production

December 11, 2015 - Germany

Germany’s chemical company, BASF, is strengthening its global production network for pigments with two new investments.

At the site in Nanjing, China, the company has increased its production capacities for high-performance diketopyrrolopyrrole pigments (DPP).
In Ludwigshafen, BASF is going to expand its capacities for the production of versatile alpha blue pigments, which are particularly characterised by their excellent fastness properties, by the fall of 2016.

The colour-intensive and extremely lightfast and weatherproof DPP pigments, which are marketed by BASF under the product name Irgazin, are – among other applications – used for automotive, industrial and powder coatings, paints and inks as well as for plastic applications.

On its Ludwigshafen site, BASF is going to expand the capacities for the production of alpha blue pigments which will be available from fall 2016 onwards. The reddish copper phthalocyanine pigments which – in addition to other blue and green pigments that are based on the same chemistry – are sold by BASF under the Heliogen brand, are characterised by their excellent fastness properties, according to a press release.

In its plant in Nanjing, which commenced operation in 2013, BASF has started producing various DPP pigments, above all for the Asian market. With its comprehensive production network for DPP pigments, which includes sites in all regions, the company is in a position to rapidly and reliably supply high-quality pigments all over the world that comply with standardised specifications.

Jeff Knight, senior vice president of the business unit dispersions and pigments Asia-Pacific said, “DPP pigments are a high-quality alternative to lead-chromate-based pigments that are increasingly being regulated all over the world. With these innovative products, we help our customers develop more sustainable solutions.” (GK)