Displaying items by tag: BASF

BASF today announced its integration plans for Cognis. BASF expects to achieve an additional EBIT of €275 million (10.6% of Cognis’ 2009 net sales) through the integration. This consists of growth synergy targets to generate an additional EBIT of €135 million by 2015 and cost synergies of around €140   million which will be achieved by the end of 2013.

To achieve the growth targets 230 additional jobs will be created worldwide, mainly in the Care Chemicals division. At the same time, BASF plans to reduce 680 positions due to overlaps in functional and administrative units as well as measures to improve efficiency. This means an overall reduction of 450 positions in the BASF Group, most of which will be realized by the end of 2012. The employees will be offered a suitable position within BASF whenever possible.

By the end of 2013, BASF expects one-time integration costs of around €290 million, excluding an inventory step-up of €120 million in 2010/2011. The integration will already be accretive as of 2012, less than two years after the acquisition.

“We see great potential for profitable growth in our Performance Products segment,” said Dr. John Feldmann, member of BASF’s Board of Executive Directors, responsible for BASF’s Performance Products segment and the Cognis integration. “Through the acquisition, we have strengthened our activities in attractive growing markets such as personal and home care, nutrition and health, coating additives synlubes and mining chemicals. The businesses complement each other excellently and allow us to offer our customers a comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions from both renewable and petro-based chemistry.”

“Over the past months, the joint integration teams have identified growth areas and defined cost synergies and worked out the plans to successfully integrate Cognis into the BASF Group,” said Michael Heinz, BASF’s Global Integration Manager for Cognis. “We will now work on implementing these measures to create additional value for our customers and for our company. We aim to complete the major parts of the structural integration by the end of 2011.”

Growth synergies of €135 million

The growth measures aim to generate an additional EBIT of around €135 million by 2015. They include leveraging the extended customer base, the extended solution capabilities and innovation capabilities as well as the regional setup of the combined business.

Cost synergies of €140 million

The cost synergies of around €140 million (5.4% of Cognis' 2009 net sales) will be achieved by the end of 2013. Main drivers are the combination of procurement activities, the consolidation of administrative structures, the improvement of production efficiency as well as the consolidation of the IT landscape.

Future site footprint and concept for Düsseldorf area

BASF plans to maintain 26 of the 28 Cognis production sites. Hythe, UK, will be sold. For Tromsoe, Norway, future strategic options will be evaluated. Of Cognis’ 37 non-production sites, 26 will be consolidated with existing BASF sites or exited, nine will remain and two are still under review.

BASF’s European Regional Business Unit (RBU) Personal Care will be located at Cognis’ former company headquarters in Monheim, Germany. The Düsseldorf-Holthausen production site, which was Cognis’ largest site, will be one of the Care Chemicals division’s key sites within its global production network, the center for global development in Personal Care and an important platform focusing on renewable-based ingredients as part of BASF’s corporate research.

“We will continue to focus on our customers’ needs and put the highest priority on ensuring that there are no business disruptions of any kind during the integration process,” said Feldmann. “In order to maintain high customer satisfaction in the course of the process and system changes within the integration we have already started to implement various measures in close cooperation with our customers.”

BASF announced its plans to acquire Cognis in June 2010 and completed the acquisition in December 2010. The equity purchase price was €700 million. Including net financial debt and pension obligations, the enterprise value of the transaction was €3.1 billion.

BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, has received approval for a 400,000 metric tons per year MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate) project in Chongqing, China. The investment will total RMB 8 billion (approximately €860 million). The facility, which will produce a core component mainly used for polyurethane foams, is expected to start up by 2014.

The project was approved by Chinese authorities, following a stringent examination of environmental, health and safety standards, two rounds of local public consultation and several expert reviews. This state-of-the-art facility will consist of an MDI plant, a nitrobenzene plant and an aniline plant, and will cover 40 hectares. It will form the center of an integrated chemical production complex operated by the Chongqing (Changshou) Chemical Industry Park.

Dr. Martin Brudermüller, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, responsible for Asia Pacific, said, “Chongqing is at the center of a growing inland region. Investing here will give us access to what will be one of the biggest MDI markets in the world. We are applying world-class safety and environmental standards in the construction and operation of our facility, and at the same time we will produce products that have a direct impact on increasing energy efficiency and lowering carbon emissions. Our investment is a pioneering step into western China. With this investment we are supporting the Chinese Government with their plans for rapid and sustainable development in western China.”

At the facility, BASF will produce MDI, a core component for versatile polyurethane (PU) products. Polyurethane is used extensively for cold as well as heat insulation applications and is the preferred material for keeping food and medications cold during production, distribution and storage. With its unique insulation properties, PU is used in the majority of refrigerators and freezers, for the insulation of hot water tanks, and for district heating or cooling pipeline insulation. In China, BASF has been producing MDI in Caojing, Shanghai since 2006. The company also has production of MDI in Antwerp, Belgium; Yeosu, Korea; and Geismar, Louisiana.

In addition to the production complex for MDI, BASF is also establishing a new Polyurethane Solutions System House in Chongqing to meet the demand of the growing markets in important industries like construction, appliances, transportation and footwear. The planned System House will have local production with sales, technical service and development personnel to provide fast and competent support to its customers.

“With these steps, BASF is the first global PU player to show a strong commitment to this important and fast growing region of China,” said Wayne T. Smith, President of BASF’s Polyurethanes division. “Our Polyurethanes Solutions System House will be fully integrated into the new MDI plant which is a significant advantage for our customers. In addition, they will benefit from the know-how and experience of BASF’s PU specialists worldwide.”

Local employment

BASF estimates that there will be at least 300 permanent jobs created through the BASF facility alone when the plant is operating in full swing. At start-up, a total of 17 plants and businesses in the chemical park will immediately begin operation as key partners or suppliers, forming the nexus of a new industry manufacturing cluster serving multiple, labor-intensive industries.

Focus on safety and environmental protection

Key safety and environmental protection features of the proposed project include full integration into a chemical park and optimized processes to bring very high efficiency and minimal emissions. The complex is an example of BASF’s integrated production concept known as “Verbund” in which waste streams are recycled and used as feedstock for chemical production to maximize efficiency and minimize environmental impact.

BASF has introduced a “five levels of safety for isocyanate production” system based on advanced solutions stemming from decades of experience worldwide to meet strictest local and BASF global environmental and safety standards. BASF works closely with the chemical park to guarantee very high standards for the facilities and management of environmental protection in the area.

Additionally, BASF will implement a “three levels of water protection” system. These processes include water protection measures from other sites BASF has operated for many years near sensitive watercourses such as the Rhine River in Ludwigshafen, Germany, the Schelde River in Antwerp, Belgium (located near the coastline of the North Sea) and the Mississippi River near Geismar, Louisiana.

The Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE has decided as a first step to contribute €500,000 to the Central Community Chest of Japan as immediate aid to victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This donation will be provided by the BASF Social Foundation.

Additionally, the company will start a global donation campaign among its employees and will fully match each euro contributed by the employees one-to-one.

Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF, said, “The deepest sympathy of the entire BASF team worldwide is with the people of Japan. This is why we are making an immediate donation and also ask all BASF employees to do their part in donating to the victims of this unprecedented disaster. We will double this amount.”

All of the approximately 1,700 BASF employees in Japan are safe and taken care of, including local employees, international delegates and business travelers. BASF has recommended that employees in strongly affected areas move to less affected regions, and is providing logistical support. The company will continue to provide assistance to employees whose housing was destroyed or damaged by the earthquake or tsunami. Especially for BASF sites in the northeast of Japan, the company is helping to provide basic temporary support such as food, water, batteries, and lodging to those with damaged homes.

Immediately after the earthquake, BASF set up Country and Regional Incident Management Teams to support employees as well as assess and manage the situation from an operational and business perspective. BASF has 35 operations sites (including 27 production sites and 8 R&D and technical centers) and 49 sales offices in Japan.

The Central Community Chest of Japan has been active in Japan since 1947. Its programs are comprehensive and include donations to children, old and disabled people as well as assistance for victims of disasters.

With immediate effect or as existing contracts permit, BASF is increasing its European sales prices for methylamines and methylamine derivates as follows:

or by the corresponding amount in local currency.

Methylamine and methylamine derivatives are versatile chemical intermediates with a wide range of applications, such as agrochemi­cals, water treatment and personal care. They also prove valuable in the production of feed additives and organic solvents. BASF produces methylamine and methylamine derivatives at its sites in Ludwigshafen (Germany), Geismar (Louisiana, USA), Nanjing (China) and Camaçari (Brazil).

The comprehensive product portfolio of BASF provides customers with a complete toolbox of solutions to their needs. At the European Coatings Show (March 29 - 31) in Nuremberg, Germany, BASF will feature a range of established products and new solutions to formulate coatings for furniture and flooring applications. Further, the company will present its product offer for the printing and packaging industry ( booth 411 in hall 7A) .  

Printing and packaging

Sharp, vibrant colors and innovative, durable finishes help to maximize consumer appeal and boost sales. With BASF, customers in the printing and packaging industry have a strong partner that provides attractive high-performance and eco-friendly solutions.

Color for printing

As the No. 1 pigment supplier for the coatings, plastics and printing industries BASF is fully committed to foster its position in high-end printing applications. At the ECS, BASF will present its consolidated portfolio of pigments, dyes and preparations for printing. The offer is specifically targeted at the high-quality segments of packaging as well as industrial and digital printing. With Irgalite^® Yellow BXFL, Irgalite^® Rubine 4BGL and the industry benchmark Irgalite^® Blue GLVO, BASF offers high-end azo and phthalocyanine pigments. In addition, BASF provides the most complete range of high-performance pigments, available in many colors and suitable for many applications such as high-end packaging and industrial printing applications. In these areas differentiated colors and good fastness properties are especially important.

Pigments for digital printing

The future of printing is digital. The pigments Cinquasia^® Jet and Cromophtal^® Jet from BASF for inkjet applications are products with very fine and narrow particle size distribution and provide high levels of quality consistency. Highly transparent Microlith^® preparations as well as the high-quality dyes Basacid^® and Orasol^® complete the offer and make BASF the leading supplier of color to the digital printing industry.

Effects for printing and packaging

At the ECS, BASF will also present its range of the high-end metallic pigment Metasheen^® and the complete portfolio of pearlescent pigments including Glacier™ Frost White, the whitest pearlescent pigment. Further, BASF will feature the effect pigment Lumina^® which enables beautiful sparkling effects in different colors with high chromaticity and transparency.

Microlith^® preparations

Life can be a lot easier when using pigment preparations. They can save production time and reduce costs and waste. With Microlith^®, BASF offers a range of powder pigment preparations with suitable grades for water, solvent and energy-curing inks for all printing applications. Microlith^® is easy to disperse and available in many colors, providing high transparency and brilliance. In combination with metallic or pearlescent pigments, stunning effects can easily be achieved. BASF’s Microlith^® K pigment preparations are the state-of-the-art color solutions for inkjet inks. The particle size distribution of these pre-dispersed pigments is extremely narrow and fine. This leads to high brilliance while at the same time the demands for the use in digital printing are met.

Pigments for sustainable solutions

Sustainability is presently a focus for BASF and will become even more important in the future. With its broad range of pigments, BASF can provide solutions to future requirements. As an example of its contribution to eco-friendly applications such as compostable plastic bags, BASF will present Heliogen^® Blue D 7460, a metal-free phthalocyanine pigment.

Joncryl^® FLX line, water-based technology for medium-duty film printing

Joncryl styrene-acrylic resins and emulsions are the key components of high-performance inks and coatings. In Nuremberg, BASF will feature its broad Joncryl^® FLX line. Joncryl^® FLX products are successfully used in water-based inks for film-printing applications. With BASF’s Joncryl^® FLX line the conversion from solvent-based to water-based printing inks for medium-duty film applications is a high-quality, cost-effective alternative.

Irgacure^® photoinitiators and Laromer^® resins

BASF will also feature its Irgacure^® photoinitiators and Laromer^® resins product line for printing and packaging applications. The Laromer^® product line offers high-performance binders resulting in emission-free energy curing of printing inks and overprint varnishes. BASF’s Irgacure^® photoinitiators are essential components for the UV curing process and set the industry standard for initiating the polymerization process to quickly reach the final cross-linked printing ink and overprint varnish. Curing faster and more economically than traditional methods, UV- and electron-beam curing lead to a higher efficiency with substantial savings in energy, time and labor. At the same time, higher gloss and resistance improve the overall quality of the print.

Efka^® dispersing agents

In Nuremberg, BASF will also launch its new range of high- performance dispersing agents. Efka^® 7701, Efka^® 7731 and Efka^® 7732 are tailor-made for high-performance printing applications and provide superior rheological properties as well as unmatched pigment dispersion stability. This allows best-in-class inkjet inks that set new performance benchmarks for the whole industry.

Liquid rather than solid: liquid N-vinyl caprolactam (NVC) from BASF

BASF has developed an interesting alternative form of the well-known, tried and tested reactive diluent N-vinyl caprolactam (NVC): the product is now available in liquid form as well for use in formulating UV-curable screen and digital printing inks. Not only does the liquid product feature easier handling than solid NVC, it even enhances the well-known performance of NVC such as high cure speed, adhesion to plastics and film flexibility. In processing, the new product offers the benefits of greater process reliability at reduced production costs. Using the liquid NVC variety is a recommended option in particular for industrial inkjet printers that produce weatherproof advertising posters for outdoor display.

source: www.basf.com

Dr. Uwe Liebelt (44) will become President of BASF’s Paper Chemicals division, located in Basel, Switzerland, effective April 1, 2011. Liebelt is currently Senior Vice President, Dispersions and Pigments North America located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dr. Ehrenfried Baumgartner (59), current President of the Paper Chemicals division, is retiring.

At this year’s European Coatings Show (ECS), to be held on March 29 to 31 in Nuremberg, Germany, BASF will present its wide-ranging expertise in the field of formulation additives. The company will showcase its innovative solutions in the areas of dispersing agents, defoamers, rheology modifiers and slip & leveling agents, featuring the combined product portfolio of BASF and recently acquired Cognis. The company’s expertise in formulation additives will be the focus of a special section at the BASF booth (No. 421, Hall 7A).

Efficient high-performance solutions

Among the dispersing agents to be presented will be the new Efka^® series of premium dispersants for inkjet and energy-curable inks. Efka^® 7701, Efka^® 7731 and Efka^® 7732 provide superior rheological properties, higher millbase pigment loading and good pigment dispersion stability. The new series facilitates the development of best-in-class printing inks that set new performance benchmarks for the whole industry.

Another new formulation additive that will be introduced at the ECS is Foamstar^® A 38, a defoamer for high-quality water-based architectural and industrial applications. It provides efficient defoaming performance in glossy paints for industrial maintenance, OPVs (printing inks) and parquet lacquers. In addition, it delivers excellent foam knock-down, thanks to its synergistic combination of hyper-branched polymers and organo-modified silicones.

BASF will also feature Dehydran^® SE 2, a high-performance silicone-polymer emulsion defoamer for premium water-based paints and clear coats. It offers good foam suppression and long-term persistency, is highly compatible and easy to handle, and minimizes gloss reduction. As Dehydran^® SE 2 is VOC-free and has an ultra-low SVOC content, it also helps manufacturers to formulate paints and clear coats that meet the requirements of environmental standards and safety certifications, such as the German TÜV, Green Seal GS‑11, the EU Ecolabel and the Blue Angel.

Strong portfolio

In the range of rheology modifiers, BASF will launch DSX^® 3801, a new VOC-free mid-shear rheology modifier with excellent ICI thickening. The ICI build of the thickener clearly exceeds that of benchmark water-based products, even at lower dosages. Due to the high efficiency and improved performance of DSX^® 3801, a smaller amount of it is needed in formulations – a “do more with less” approach that delivers sustainability benefits. Rheovis^® 162, meanwhile, is a rheology modifier of outstanding efficiency, with a genuine thixotropic effect that makes it ideally suited to non-dripping stains and paints.

BASF’s experts will also provide information about the wide range of slip & leveling agents available to improve the performance of customers’ products. Well-established brands such as the Efka^® 3000 series increase slip and surface smoothness, and can provide a “soft-touch” effect. Due to their broad compatibility, Efka^® slip & leveling agents are suitable for use in high-gloss clear coatings without causing haze.

“Thanks to our comprehensive expertise we can provide our customers with a broad range of tailor-made solutions,” says Mark Dorn, Head of BASF’s Global Business Management for Formulation Additives. “The portfolios of formulation additives complement each other very well. We are very much looking forward to exhibiting at this year’s European Coatings Show.”

As part of the strategic realignment of the Paper Chemicals division, BASF will be closing down its production facility for the manufacture of basazol dyes at the Ludwigshafen (Germany) site. In future, the demand for paper dyes in Europe will be served completely from the two global production sites in Ankleshwar (India) and Altamira (Mexico).

"With this decision, we are adjusting our production structures to the changing conditions on the worldwide market. Our global positioning strategy is aimed at restoring our paper chemicals business to international competitiveness," explains Dr. Fred Baumgartner, President Paper Chemicals division.

The planned restructuring will affect 42 full time jobs at the Ludwigshafen site. Employees will receive a new workplace at the site.

This change completes BASF's restructuring of its paper dye business at the global level.

BASF Plant Science has concluded its Amflora cultivation plans for the 2011 season. Amflora, the genetically enhanced potato for use in the starch industry, will this year be cultivated on two hectares of land in Üplingen (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany).

" There are many good reasons for the use of Amflora in Germany, which after all is renowned for growing starch potatoes. Separating the starch components in conventional potatoes for industrial use is not cost-effective or environmentally sound. Amflora is an innovative new variety which produces pure amylopectin starch. It therefore helps to cut down on resources, energy and costs and offers farmers and the starch processing industry real added value," says Peter Eckes, Managing Director of BASF Plant Science.

In addition to Germany, BASF Plant Science will again be planting out Amflora in Sweden during the 2011 season. After receiving approval from the authorities for the majority of the Amflora seed stock, BASF Plant Science will this year be concentrating on propagating seed stock for cultivation in subsequent years. BASF is performing very strict internal quality checks for this purpose and is only using the best quality seed stock.

About Amflora

Amflora is a genetically modified potato variety which produces pure amylopectin starch. Conventional potatoes produce a mixture of amylopectin and amylose starch. In many potato starch applications, for example in the paper, adhesive and food industries, only amylopectin is needed, but separating the two starch components is uneconomical. Amflora produces pure amylopectin starch and thus helps to save resources, energy and costs. Moreover, paper manufactured with amylopectin starch has greater tear resistance, and the addition of amylopectin to concrete and adhesives gives them a longer pot life. In the case of Amflora, BASF Plant Science and its partners in the starch industry decided to focus on industrial applications.

Effective February 1, 2010, or as contracts allow, BASF will increase prices in Europe, Africa and Western Asia for polymer dispersions as well as additives by 130 Euro per metric ton and acrylic resins and redispersible powders by 200 Euro per metric ton. The price adjustments are necessary due to significantly increased raw material costs.

The products affected by the price increase are used as polymers for adhesives, fiberbonding , architectural coatings and construction chemicals.