BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany; www.basf.com) put the expanded compounding plant at BASF’s Schwarzheide site in Germany into operation. With the expansion of the plant up to 70,000 metric tons (m.t.) more Ultramid (PA; polyamide) and Ultradur (PBT; polybutylene terephthalate) can be produced each year. This is a further step in the capacity expansions with which BASF is responding to the rising global demand for engineering plastics. BASF’s worldwide compounding capacity for PA and PBT will thus reach more than 700,000 m.t. per year. About 50 new jobs will be created.
“The bigger plant enables us to accompany our customers’ growth in the long run, at the highest technical level and with the best plastics,” says Jürgen Becky, since May 1st, 2017 head of BASF’s business unit Performance Materials Europe. “The expanded plant represents state of the art technology in the plastics market and gives us even more flexibility in our production process.” At the same time, the additional capacity increases flexibility in the global production network of BASF. Thus BASF can, for example, meet the higher expectations of the automotive industry when it comes to the production of high-volume components. With the expansion, Schwarzheide is the site with the biggest PA and PBT compounding capacity within BASF globally.
The engineering plastics Ultramid and Ultradur are used to make high-performance components for the automotive, electrical and electronics industries, as well as for the construction and furniture sectors. The components include oil pans, engine mounts, sensors and connectors, chairs and fastening elements.