BASF Corp. has formed a plastics distribution unit to work more closely with distributors that supply its styrenic resins to end users.
In North America, Mount Olive-based BASF works with four styrenics distributors: Amco Plastic Materials of Farmingdale, N.Y.; Ashland Distribution Co. of Dublin, Ohio; Entec Engineered Resins of Maitland, Fla.; and Prime Alliance Inc. of Des Moines, Iowa.
The new unit will be led by Edward McKenna, who has been with BASF for 17 years. McKenna has prior experience with the firm's polystyrene and polyurethanes businesses.
BASF also has been busy this year with the introduction of a high-impact PS grade designed for printability and chemical resistance in extrusion applications. A similar new grade offers a high draw rate and can be blended easily, officials said.
The firm also recently launched a new grade of Avantra-brand superhigh-impact PS for the injection molding market, and it is seeing some success with its Ecoflex-brand biodegradable polymer in trash bags, disposable packaging and agricultural sheeting. Ecoflex is an aliphatic-aromatic copolyester that BASF produces at a 17 million-pound-per-year plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
