BASF reorganizes its paper chemicals business
As of January 1, 2015, the Paper Chemicals division will be dissolved. The current headquarters of the Paper Chemicals division in Basel, Switzerland will be closed by the end of 2014.
BASF to remain a leading global supplier to the paper industry
New set-up follows structure of BASF value chains
Strategic options for paper hydrous kaolin business being evaluated
Ludwigshafen, Germany – September 24, 2014 – BASF is changing the organizational set-up of its paper chemicals business to strengthen its competitiveness and better meet the needs of the paper industry.
As of January 1, 2015, the Paper Chemicals division will be dissolved. The current headquarters of the Paper Chemicals division in Basel, Switzerland will be closed by the end of 2014. Overall, there will be a reduction of about 50 positions globally as a result of the implementation of the new set-up. The business will be continued in other divisions of the Performance Products segment as follows:
The wet-end chemicals and kaolin businesses will be integrated into the Performance Chemicals division, supplementing the polyacrylamide value chain. A new global business unit “Paper Chemicals” will be established within the Performance Chemicals division. BASF is evaluating strategic options for its paper hydrous kaolin business.
The paper dispersions business and the Center for Sustainable Paper Packaging (CSPP) will be integrated into the division Dispersions & Pigments, supplementing the latex dispersions value chain.
“Integrating the paper chemicals business along existing value chains will allow BASF to optimally steer plant capacity and leverage the advantages of the BASF Verbund. This will strengthen our businesses and further increase the competitiveness of our Performance Products segment,” said Michael Heinz, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Performance Products segment.
BASF remains committed to the paper chemicals industry by providing sustainable solutions and technical expertise. There will be no impact on supply security and service for the customers. Sales with paper chemicals were €1.44 billion in 2013.
BASF continues to analyze further measures to improve the competitiveness of the Performance Products segment.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry – and have been doing so for 150 years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the world’s leading chemical company, we combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of about €74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.