German chemicals firm BASF SE has advanced its $10bn (€9bn) world-class production site in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, China, with a ground-breaking ceremony in Nov.
At the initial stage, the company will build two production plants manufacturing engineering plastics and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) destined for southern China and other Asian markets.
Set for completion by 2022, the engineering plastics compounding plant will produce 60 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of compounds, bringing BASF’s total manufacturing capacity for the products in the Asia Pacific to 290ktpa.
The new capacity will enable BASF to meet the growing demand, particularly in the automotive, electronics and new energy vehicles (NEV) industries for its products.
“We are pleased to see our mega-investment project in China is progressing,” said Dr. Martin Brudermüller, chairman of the board of executive directors, BASF SE in a statement.
“We are determined to support our customers in southern China drive growth with innovative products and sustainable solutions.”
BASF plans to implement a comprehensive smart manufacturing concept at the integrated (verbund) site, employing the latest digital and safety technologies. The new site will, for example, utilise automated packaging, high-tech control systems, and automated guided vehicles.
The site in Guangdong marks BASF’s largest single investment and connects upstream and downstream plants – from basic chemicals to more consumer-oriented products and solutions – in an integrated concept.
Once completed in 2030, the site will ultimately be the third-largest BASF site worldwide, following Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium.
Sourced from Plastic News Europe - written by =Shahrzad Pourriahi