Displaying items by tag: BASF

BASF and Archroma have agreed on the sale of BASF’s global textile chemicals business to Archroma, a supplier of specialty chemicals to the textile, paper and emulsions industries. Archroma is a portfolio company of SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm with focus on the specialty materials, chemicals and healthcare sectors. It is planned to integrate the business into the Archroma Textile Chemicals Specialties business. Currently, the textile chemicals business is part of BASF’s Performance Chemicals division. The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities and the closing is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2015. The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details.

• Business to become part of Archroma’s Textile Specialties
• BASF’s Performance Products segment further sharpens focus on growth-driven customer industries

The transaction comprises the global textile chemicals business, as well as the legal entity BASF Pakistan (Private) Ltd., Karachi. About 290 positions globally are in the scope of the transaction, thereof approximately 230 in Asia. This step is in line with BASF’s strategy of actively managing its portfolio and it will further sharpen the focus of the Performance Products segment on growth driven customer industries.

“In a very competitive and highly fragmented market, we have successfully positioned the textile chemicals business as one of the leading global textile suppliers. The current consolidation process of the industry means that a critical mass is necessary to grow the business successfully. We see positive future growth prospects for the business under the umbrella of Archroma, building on the expertise and professionalism of our textile chemicals team,” said Hans W. Reiners, President of BASF’s Performance Chemicals division.

The textile chemicals business of BASF offers solutions to the full textile processing value chain, which includes a portfolio for pre-treatment, printing, finishing and coating. The business has a global presence with a strong focus on Asian growth markets, and is headquartered in Singapore.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry – and have been doing so for 150 years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the world’s leading chemical company, 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 about €74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 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.

About Archroma

Archroma is a global color and specialty chemicals company committed to innovation, world-class quality standards, high service levels, cost-efficiency and sustainability. Archroma is headquartered in Reinach near Basel, Switzerland, and operates with approximately 3,000 employees over 35 countries. Through its three businesses: Textile Specialties, Paper Solutions and Emulsion Products, Archroma delivers specialized performance and color solutions to meet customer needs in their local markets. Archroma helps people fulfill their desire for products that appeal to their emotions and senses for a greater life experience, by developing beauty- and performance-improving technologies applied to everyday products. Products enhanced, colors enhanced, performance enhanced – “Life enhanced”. www.archroma.com

 BASF is changing the organizational set-up of its paper chemicals business to strengthen its competitiveness and better meet the needs of the paper industry. BASF is a leading global supplier to the paper industry and offers a comprehensive range of chemical products for paper manufacturing and coating.

• BASF to remain a leading global supplier to the paper industry
• New set-up follows structure of BASF value chains
• Strategic options for paper hydrous kaolin business being evaluated

As of January 1, 2015, the Paper Chemicals division will be dissolved. The current headquarters of the Paper Chemicals division in Basel, Switzerland will be closed by the end of 2014. Overall, there will be a reduction of about 50 positions globally as a result of the implementation of the new set-up. The business will be continued in other divisions of the Performance Products segment as follows:

• The wet-end chemicals and kaolin businesses will be integrated into the Performance Chemicals division, supplementing the polyacrylamide value chain. A new global business unit “Paper Chemicals” will be established within the Performance Chemicals division. BASF is evaluating strategic options for its paper hydrous kaolin business.
• The paper dispersions business and the Center for Sustainable Paper Packaging (CSPP) will be integrated into the division Dispersions & Pigments, supplementing the latex dispersions value chain.

“Integrating the paper chemicals business along existing value chains will allow BASF to optimally steer plant capacity and leverage the advantages of the BASF Verbund. This will strengthen our businesses and further increase the competitiveness of our Performance Products segment,” said Michael Heinz, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Performance Products segment.

BASF remains committed to the paper chemicals industry by providing sustainable solutions and technical expertise. There will be no impact on supply security and service for the customers. Sales with paper chemicals were €1.44 billion in 2013.

BASF continues to analyze further measures to improve the competitiveness of the Performance Products segment.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry – and have been doing so for 150 years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the world’s leading chemical company, 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 about €74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 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.

Under the brand name XELOREXTM, BASF has launched a unique solution for the production of paper and board. The new BASF brand of multifunctional 4-in-1 wet-end chemistry responds to the diverse challenges the paper industry is facing these days. Whether it comes to reduction of complexity in production, a higher stability of operations, a boost for productivity or an improved cost-efficiency – a broad range of needs are addressed by applying only a single product of the XELOREX product family.

“We want to serve the paper industry with solutions, not just chemicals,” says Dr. Uwe Liebelt, President of BASF’s Paper Chemicals division. “With XELOREX we offer an innovative chemistry that significantly improves various performance parameters in papermaking while reducing the total cost of operation. For our customers this represents a real competitive advantage.“

One solution for multiple benefits
XELOREX reduces complexity in the wet-end through its 4-in-1 functionality. It enables papermakers to achieve and improve the effects of retention, drainage, fixation and strength with just one product of the XELOREX product family. Further, it has the potential of replacing other wet-end chemicals up to an extent of 100%. Application of XELOREX also leads to proven enhancements of a variety of dry strength parameters. This can mean a 10–30% improvement in this area, depending on the basis weight and the paper grade.

Applying XELOREX, customers also gain clear improvements in stability of operations. The outstanding improvement of the initial wet web strength (IWWS) reduces the number of breaks and this way improves productivity. In addition, XELOREX provides enhancements of a variety of dry strength parameters, which is particularly important in the production of packaging paper and board.

Manufacturers of both, packaging and graphical papers benefit from the additional productivity increases that XELOREX yields. The improved IWWS, less stickies and clean water circuits lead to a higher efficiency due to less downtime. The reduced draw also permits to run machines at significantly increased speeds, another booster of productivity, if needed.

Finally, XELOREX means an improved cost-efficiency for papermakers as it targets a variety of cost drivers in the papermaking process. Through its powerful dry strength performance, expensive long fibers can be replaced with lower-cost short fibers. It also enables the increased use of recycled fibers. Additionally, XELOREX supports an increased filler loading, as it leads to a better integration of filler particles into the paper web. The increased filler loading means a cheaper way of replacing fiber material and improving printing properties and also helps to save steam since less fiber needs to be dried. Overall, specific fixed costs are diluted without compromising on the quality of paper and board.

Neels Hansen, Brand Manager XELOREX, Paper Chemicals Division, explains: “Considering the diverse benefits our customer can generate with the multifunctional features of XELOREX, this new brand represents a new standard for papermaking in a challenging market environment. In our eyes this marks a revolution for the paper production process.”

Introduction of the brand and the new XELOREX portfolio starts in Europe and will be gradually extended to the regions Asia Pacific, North and South America.

Making good things even better – that is the recipe for success for both BASF and its employees. Last year, the company implemented nearly 20,000 suggestions for improvement from employees worldwide and as a result saved more than €50 million. BASF rewarded the inventive spirit and innovative power of the people behind the ideas with bonuses totaling more than €4.2 million. “Successful idea management enables us to increase our competitiveness and optimize our work processes. The improvements also often make an important contribution to promoting occupational safety and protecting health and the environment. These achievements are a credit to our employees, and we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for their dedication,” said Margret Suckale, Member of the Board of BASF SE.

With a total of 7,000 ideas put into practice, employees of BASF SE at the Verbund site of Ludwigshafen saved the company just under €30 million in 2012. Thanks to just one idea from three employees who work at a solvent production plant, namely August Sadowski, Udo Storck, and Willi Haag, BASF saves more than €2.5 million per year. Their proposal was to rebuild the air cooler in the plant in such a way that the production capacity can be fully utilized even under high outside temperature conditions. This had previously not been possible due to insufficient levels of cooling and condensing. Now, BASF can meet the high demand for solvents in summer as well, and these employees are pleased to receive a record bonus totaling €170,000.

Idea management has become an integral part of the culture of innovation at BASF. The inventiveness of the company’s employees is clear from the numbers: In 2012 they submitted nearly 38,000 new suggestions for improvement.

BASF maintained its good performance in 2012. The company exceeded the 2011 record levels in sales and income from operations (EBIT) and once again earned a substantial premium on the cost of capital. Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, said at the Annual Press Conference: “The Oil & Gas and Agricultural Solutions segments achieved new records, while development in our chemicals business was weaker than in 2011.”

Sales in the fourth quarter of 2012 were €19.6 billion, 9% higher than in the same quarter of the previous year. This increase was mainly due to higher volumes in almost all segments as well as price and currency effects. At €1.8 billion, EBIT before special items was 18% above the level of the previous fourth quarter, mainly due to significantly higher volumes in Oil & Gas as well as improved earnings in Polyurethanes and Construction Chemicals.

For the full year, BASF increased sales to €78.7 billion, up 7% compared with 2011. EBIT before special items improved by 5% to €8.9 billion and EBIT by almost 5% to around €9 billion. Net income fell by €1.3 billion to €4.9 billion, due in part to the higher earnings contribution from Oil & Gas and thus the significantly higher taxes. Furthermore, gains from the sale of BASF’s shares in K+S Aktiengesellschaft in 2011 were predominantly tax-free.

At the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, the Board of Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board will propose a higher dividend of €2.60 per share. This is an increase of €0.10 compared with the previous year. Based on the 2012 year-end share price of €71.15, the dividend yield would be 3.65%.

“ At €6.7 billion, cash flow from operating activities once again reached a high level,” said Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel, Chief Financial Officer of BASF. The equity ratio of 40.1% remained at a high level.

Outlook for 2013

BASF’s outlook for 2013 is based on the following economic conditions (previous year figures in parentheses):

---World economic growth: +2.4% (+2.2%)

---Growth in global chemical production: +3.6% (+2.6%)

---An average euro/dollar exchange rate of $1.30 per euro ($1.28 per euro)

---An average oil price of $110/barrel ($112/barrel)

“We aim to grow again in 2013 and exceed the 2012 levels in sales and EBIT before special items,” said Bock. The company strives to increase sales and earnings in all operating segments. The expected increase in demand, together with measures to improve operational excellence and raise efficiency, will contribute to this. BASF aims to earn a high premium on its cost of capital once again in 2013.

Bock said: “ Innovations are the basis for future profitable growth and thus lie at the core of our competitiveness.” Therefore, BASF will once again increase its research and development spending in 2013, after expenditures of €1.7 billion in the past year – around 9% more than in 2011.

Sales increase in almost all segments in the fourth quarter

In Chemicals, sales in the fourth quarter 2012 increased, equally driven by price and portfolio effects. Volume growth and currency tailwinds also contributed to topline growth. EBIT before special items declined mainly due to lower margins and plant shutdowns. For the full year 2012, sales increased by 7% to €13.8 billion. EBIT before special items decreased by 30% to €1.7 billion.

Sales in Plastics increased due to higher volumes and prices as well as positive currency effects. There was continuing strong demand from the automotive industry, particularly in North America and Asia. EBIT before special items rose substantially due to a significant improvement in earnings in Polyurethanes. In 2012, sales in the Plastics segment increased 4% to €11.4 billion. EBIT before special items declined by 27% to €873 million.

Sales in Performance Products came in above the previous fourth quarter, mainly driven by higher volumes. Price declines were offset by positive currency effects. EBIT before special items in the segment decreased due to lower margins. Sales for the full year 2012 of €15.9 billion were around 1% higher than in the previous year. EBIT before special items fell 17% to €1.4 billion.

Sales in Functional Solutions decreased slightly compared with the fourth quarter of 2011. Volumes were down, particularly due to a lower contribution from precious metals trading. A small decrease in sales prices was compensated for by currency tailwinds. Healthy demand in Catalysts and Coatings came from the automotive industry. Strict fixed cost management led to a substantial increase in EBIT before special items. Sales in 2012 were €11.5 billion, 1% higher than in 2011. At €561 million, EBIT before special items was slightly above the previous year.

Sales in Agricultural Solutions were up in the fourth quarter of 2012. Growth was driven by higher volumes, the Becker Underwood acquisition, and favorable currency effects. Sales in South America increased significantly despite dry weather conditions in Brazil. Prices were just below the high level of the prior-year quarter. EBIT before special items was lower than in the fourth quarter of 2011 due to higher R&D expenditures and investments in growth markets. In addition, royalty income in North America reported in the fourth quarter in 2011 was already reported in the third quarter in 2012. Agricultural Solutions had another record year in 2012. Sales rose by 12% to €4.7 billion. EBIT before special items grew by 28% to more than €1 billion. The EBITDA margin target of 25% was achieved.

Sales in Oil & Gas in the fourth quarter grew strongly mainly due to significantly increased oil production in Libya and higher volumes from Natural Gas Trading. The start-up of additional wells in the Achimgaz joint venture also contributed to sales. EBIT before special items grew substantially. Special items of €120 million were related to impairment charges on the Yme development project in Norway. Non-compensable taxes on oil production amounted to €492 million. Net income decreased by 9% and was €250 million. For the full year, sales rose by 39% to €16.7 billion and EBIT before special items almost doubled to €4.1 billion. Net income also grew to €1.2 billion.

In the fourth quarter, sales in Other were around €1.2 billion. These activities include the sale of raw materials, engineering and other services, rental income and leases. EBIT before special items declined by €91 million mainly due to lower earnings of other businesses. In 2012, sales were €4.8 billion, a decline of 24% and EBIT before special items decreased to minus €839 million. This was primarily due to the divestiture of the styrenic plastics activities and the fertilizer business.

BASF and Zelfo Technology have signed an agreement for the transfer of IP rights of the latest Zelfo processing technology for the efficient and cost-effective production of micro-fibrillated cellulose. The newly developed technology concerns the engineering of superior micro-fibrillated cellulose which is used to produce a wide variety of paper, board and tissue products. This technology allows significant improvement in strength and weight reduction to address for example, the need for lighter, stronger paper-based packaging. Financial details of the cooperation were not announced.

BASF aims to further improve Zelfo’s fibre technology through a wide range of chemical additives for paper making. BASF’s expertise in chemistry is essential for MFC technology to function efficiently on an industrial scale and to support the use of cellulosic, recyclable and biodegradable materials in the process.  

“The cooperation combines BASF’s chemistry with Zelfo Technology’s know-how and patented process for optimized cellulosic raw materials,” said Uwe Liebelt, President of BASF’s Paper Chemicals division. “Together we are uniquely positioned to address the needs of the packaging industry for increased recyclability coupled with superior performance.”

Each partner has defined exclusive industry fields to apply this technology. BASF will focus on all applications related to paper, board, packaging and tissue. Zelfo Technology will continue its main activities in non VOC emitting binders and bio-composite based applications. Both companies will collaborate to scale-up the technology and will continue to work closely together. Zelfo Technology has a unique position in modern cellulose material science and has won several awards for its technical achievements in producing special cellulose composite based products.  

“BASF is leading in chemistry and Zelfo Technology is a pioneer in cellulosic material science. Our recently concluded agreements with BASF will accelerate the full industrial scale-up of the process for the benefit of both companies,” said Richard Hurding, CEO of Zelfo Technology. “By offering enhanced cellulosic materials such as MFC, not only wood pulp but also recycled pulp and agricultural cellulose waste can all be upgraded to produce superior pulp additive grades for better products and more sustainable packaging.”

BASF has begun production of chemicals for water treatment and paper manufacturing at the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park in Nanjing, China. These wholly-owned, world-scale production plants for quaternized cationic monomers (DMA3Q) and cationic polyacrylamide (cPAM)further strengthen BASF’s leading position in supporting the water treatment and paper industries in Asia.

The facility has an annual capacity of 40,000 tons of DMA3Q and 20,000 tons of cPAM, and is strongly backward integrated. Key precursors are supplied by the adjoining facilities at BASF-YPC Co., a 50-50 joint venture between BASF and SINOPEC which is one of six BASF Verbund sites worldwide.

“The completion of these facilities is an important milestone, allowing BASF to establish a globally cost-competitive supply for the water treatment industry,” said Dr. Matthias Halusa, Head of BASF’s Global Business Management Water Solutions. “ Production right at the heart of the water treatment industry in Asiafurther strengthens BASF’s position in this region as a supplier of innovative solutions.”

The demand for sustainable solutions to improve water and waste water management in Asia, specifically in China, is rising in order to provide long-term water security. Access to clean water is among the major local challenges. BASF contributes with innovative solutions to close the water supply gap as a leading provider of chemical solutions for water recycling, reuse, water savings and drinking water treatment.

“As the first global player for powder polymers and monomers in this rapidly growing region, we can respond to the growing demands of our customers. Becoming a local producer demonstrates BASF’s commitment to support these important industries in Asia ,” emphasized Magali Simon, Regional Head of BASF Business Water Solutions Asia Pacific.

Cationic polyacrylamides are used as organic flocculants and coagulants as well as retention and drainage aids in the paper industry. With Zetag^® and Magnafloc^® BASF provides a comprehensive range of water treatment chemicals especially designed for the solid/liquid separation process in the industrial and municipal waste water treatment sectors. BASF offers innovative solutions on increasing productivity and reducing total cost of operations in paper industry with Percol^® and Organopol^®.

“ This plant will underpin BASF’s position as one of the leading players in providing retention and drainage solutions as well as water management to our paper customers. At the same time, we will be setting new sustainability standards in the way we use water and energy, ” said Heng Lin, Senior Vice President, Paper Chemicals Asia Pacific.

The plants at Nanjing are built according to BASF’s high global standards of safety and environmental protection. Particular importance is put on training the employees and the safety experts to ensure the same high safety standards as in all other production facilities.

BASF is opening a state-of-the-art production site for customer specific antioxidant blends (CSB) in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This is the largest facility of this kind worldwide and will become fully operational in December.

With this investment BASF Plastic Additives continues to strengthen its position as the leading partner in plastic additives for the plastic processing industry worldwide and shows its strong commitment to supportthe growth of the polymer industry in the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC). CSB are additives-blends individually tailored to meet individual customer needs and are an integral part of the portfolio BASF offers to the plastics industry.

“BASF’s investment in this new site demonstrates our steadfast commitment to support growing industries in the Middle East, while at the same time setting standards with regard to quality, safety and employee training,” said Michael Heinz, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF, during the opening ceremony.

Kamal bin Ahmed, Minister of Transportation and Acting Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, said: “We are delighted to welcome BASF, a leading international company, to Bahrain. Large manufacturing firms like BASF are playing an increasingly important role in our economy and will be a significant part of our plan to create sustainable long term economic growth and high quality jobs.”

The new facility, which is based on proprietary CSB technology, will provide local production and services tothe fast growing polymer market in the Middle East with special focus on key customers in the countries of the GCC. It comes in addition to the existing manufacturing agreement for CSB with Astra Polymer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has been extended earlier this year.

John Frijns, Head of Plastic Additives Europe/ EAWA, stresses the necessity of local structures: “As BASF, we are committed to accompany the growth in the region with technical and flexible supply solutions through local production. ”

The new facility is part of a strong antioxidants production network comprising Asia, Europe and the Americas, which will be further optimized once the new capacity comes on stream.

BASF’s Dialog Forum Nano is presenting its final report for the dialog phase 2011/2012 today, November 22, in Berlin. The aim of the regular dialog with representatives from research institutes, labor unions, commerce, industry, churches as well as environmental and consumer organizations was to generate joint recommendations for improving transparency in communication about nanomaterials from manufacturers to consumers. “The Dialog Forum Nano is a good example of how BASF is innovative not only in using new technologies to develop new products, but also in communication about these technologies,” said Wolfgang Weber, Vice President Communications & Government Relations BASF Group. “Our positive experience shows that we are on the right track. We will therefore continue the dialog series in future.”

BASF has conducted the Dialog Forum Nano since 2008, making it the only company in Germany to pursue a regular dialog on the topic of nanotechnology. “It is very important for us that a trusting and constructive cooperation has developed over the years. We have entered into many – sometimes difficult – discussions and have reviewed our own positions,” explained the organizer Carolin Kranz, Senior Manager Communications & Government Relations. Participant Rolf Buschmann of the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Advice Center stated: “The Dialog Forum Nano represents an innovative and successful approach to stakeholder communication which has been decisively shaped by the special commitment and willingness of the participants from many different areas of business and society to engage in discussions.” The Dialog Forum Nano was developed and moderated by the organization “Dialog Basis”.

Over several months the dialog partners discussed which scientific information is available, where knowledge gaps exist and how information can be usefully presented to consumers. The topics were partially based on specific consumer inquiries and numerous expert assessments. Using the examples of dirt-repellent and antimicrobial textiles as well as paints and coatings, the joint final report contains recommendations on how information can be gathered within the companies along the supply chain in order to facilitate communication with consumers. At today’s event in Berlin, the results of the dialog phase 2011/2012 will be presented and discussed with Ulrike Höfken, Minister for Environment, Agriculture, Food, Wine Growing and Forestry of the Federal State of Rhineland Palatinate, and others.

The final report and other information on the topic of nanotechnology can be found on http://nanotechnology.basf.com. The website contains information on new products and research projects as well as the results of BASF’s safety research on nanotechnology. There is also an opportunity to enter into dialog with the company through asking questions and exchanging viewpoints.