By: ICN Bureau
Last updated : March 06, 2018 8:18 pm
BASF will significantly expand its presence in the Middle East region by building a state-of-the-art plant for customer specific antioxidant blends (CSB) in Bahrain. CSBs are key additives for the production of polymers for the plastics industry, esp
BASF will significantly expand its presence in
the Middle East region by building a state-of-the-art plant for customer
specific antioxidant blends (CSB) in Bahrain. CSBs are key additives for the
production of polymers for the plastics industry, especially for the Middle East
region. Construction of the new facility will start in September 2011. It will
become one of the worldwide largest CSB plants with an annual capacity of about
16,000 metric tons. The new plant will be operational already end of 2012.
This is a major investment of BASF in the plastic additives business following
its acquisition of Ciba in 2009 and manifests BASF's strong commitment to this
industry. Hans W. Reiners, President of BASF's Performance Chemicals division,
explained this strategic move: "We are very happy to establish a
state-of-the-art CSB production site close to our customers in this fast growing
region. This is backed by our powerful production network of antioxidants in
Asia, Europe and the Americas making us worldwide one of the leading partners to
the plastic processing industry with a product portfolio unmatched in terms of
broadness and quality. BASF is very much committed to further strengthen its
plastic additives business ranging from antioxidants and lightstabilizers to
pigments."
This new plant will come in addition to the existing manufacturing agreement for
CSBs with Astra Polymer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, making BASF the largest
CSB supplier in this region. This facility will be well positioned to serve the
fast growing polymer market in the Middle East with special focus on key
customers in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), one of the
fastest growing regions for the production of polyolefin resins worldwide.
"The expected growth of the plastic polymer production in Middle East will get
an additional push by increasing efforts to grow the plastics downstream market
locally. As BASF, we are committed to accompany such growth with technical
solutions and flexible supply patterns which are only possible as a local
supplier," said John Frijns, Senior Vice President Plastics Additives Europe/EAWA.
"This will help us to deliver high quality products tailor-made to the demand of
the industry. Furthermore, the proximity to our main customers will ensure a
flexible and reliable supply."