BASF building mega-polyamide plant in China

A massive polyamide (PA) plant with capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year is under construction in Shanghai, China. The new plant is scheduled to be started up in 2015 by BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany).

The fast-growing automotive and packaging industries in China played a part in BASF's decision to build a mammoth polyamide plant in Shanghai.

"As part of our long-term strategy, we aim to locate production close to our customers in the Asia Pacific region, so that we can better support their growth, operate more efficiently and collaborate more closely. BASF intends to grow two percentage points above the market in Asia Pacific and maintain our commitment to environmental protection as well as ensuring a positive contribution to society for a sustainable future," says Dr. Albert Heuser, president and chairman Greater China and Functions Asia Pacific.

"The demand for polyamide products in the engineering plastics, fiber and film industries will grow strongly, particularly in China," says Hermann Althoff, Sr. VP of the Global Polyamide and Intermediates Business Unit. "The investment enables us to participate in this growth and supply our Asian customers with locally manufactured high performance products."

The BASF wholly-owned plant will be built at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) in Caojing which is also home to a world scale facility for integrated isocyanates, operated by BASF and partners.

BASF's line of is polyamide products for injection molding and extrusion include PA 6 (UltramidB), PA 6/66 copolymer (Ultramid C) and PA 66 (Ultramid A). The company operates Ultramidpolymerization plants in Ludwigshafen; Antwerp, Belgium; Freeport, Texas; and São Paulo, Brazil.