BASF India to build chemical production facility in Gujarat

BASF India Limited will invest €150M (US$197.4M) to set up a chemical production site at the Dahej Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR), located on the west coast of India in Gujarat.
The site will be an integrated hub for polyurethane manufacturing and will also house production facilities for care chemicals and polymer dispersions for coatings and paper. With this new production site, BASF aims to ensure local supply for growing markets and industries such as automotive, construction, adhesives, architectural coatings, appliances, footwear, paper and personal care. The start of production is planned for 2014.
"With its robust local industries, India is set to become a pillar of growth in Asia Pacific. The country’s changing demographic profile and the resulting need for improved quality of life are driving increasing market demand. With the new manufacturing facility, we will be able to serve our customers better by developing solutions that meet their individual needs as well as strengthen their competitive advantage,” said Dr Martin Brudermueller, vice chairman of the Board of Directors of BASF SE, responsible for Asia Pacific.

"The Dahej site complements the existing manufacturing set-up of BASF in India and will support and contribute to the growth of the Indian chemical industry,” said Mr Prasad Chandran, chairman and managing director, BASF India Limited. "The location offers excellent investment conditions and a favourable business environment due to the proximity to raw materials as well as customers. With this new project, we expect to grow our businesses in the important northern and western regions of India”, he added.

The site will employ more than 250 people at full capacity, primarily in operations. With shared infrastructure and state-of-the-art production systems, the site will also provide resource efficient BASF technologies for the conservation of energy and water.

The site’s advanced design takes advantage of the latest technologies from BASF facilities around the world and ensures safe and responsible operations.
The integrated polyurethane facility will produce Elastollan TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), Cellasto NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) parts and Polyurethane Systems, which is supported by new production facilities for important precursors, comprising Polyetherols and Polyesterols plants as well as a plant for processing crude MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate).
The polymer dispersions facility at the site will produce Acronal and Styrofan, key ingredients for architectural coatings, adhesives, and construction, Styronal and Basonal for paper coating and Basoplast for sizing.
BASF currently produces dispersions at an existing plant in Mangalore.