Guangzhou, China — German chemicals giant BASF SE is building a 60,000-metric-ton annual capacity engineering plastics compounding plant in China.
In a May 21 announcement on the opening day of the Chinaplas trade fair in Gaungzhou, BASF said it will build the plant at its proposed integrated chemical production, or Verbund, site in the city of Zhanjiang, in Guangdong province.
It will bring BASF's capacity for compounding such materials within the Asia Pacific region to 290,000 metric tons. The company estimates the site will be operational by 2022 and it will be the first production to come onstream in the new Verbund site.
The Verbund site is slated to be a $10 billion project and is BASF's largest ever investment.
"Less than a year after we signed the first [memorandum of understanding], we are delighted to announce the first plants to be established at our smart Verbund site in Zhanjiang," said Stephan Kothrade, president Functions Asia Pacific and president and chairman Greater China, BASF. "The project is moving forward swiftly and customers in southern China will soon benefit from these innovative products to meet their immediate needs."
The company said site could ultimately become BASF's third largest worldwide.
"In particular, electric and electronics companies and automotive manufacturers are turning to BASF to help them address trends such as the electrification of cars and miniaturization of electronic devices," said Raimar Jahn, president of BASF Performance Materials.