BASF Breaks ground for Zhanjiang PE Plant
BASF has broken ground for its new 50,000 t/y polyethylene plant due to go on stream at its integrated production site in Zhanjiang, China, in 2025. The new facility will be its first PE unit in the People’s Republic.
With the new plant, the German chemicals and plastics major said it will enter the Chinese PE market via a competitive production footprint, responding to demand from customers in the consumer goods, packaging, construction and transportation industries for pipes, specialty films and blow molded parts for household and industrial chemical containers, especially in the South China region.
China's demand for PE has experienced rapid growth that will outpace the rest of the world, asserted Bir Darbar Mehta, senior vice president of Petrochemicals Asia Pacific.
In mid-2022, BASF’s management gave final approval for the long-planned €10 billion complex in Guangdong province. The project, which will include the group’s wholly owned steam cracker in China with capacity for 1 million t/y of ethylene, is due to be completed in stages up to 2030.
European POM distribution transferred to partners
From October 1, 2023, BASF said it will change its European direct business for its Ultraform-branded polyoxymethylene (POM) and transfer the sales process to long-standing trading partners ALBIS and Ultrapolymers Group.
While transferring the sales process, BASF said it will retain responsibility for research and development, and Ultraform will continue to be an important part of its engineering plastics portfolio. Customers will continue to benefit from the chemicals giant’s innovations and broad expertise, especially in solving technical challenges, the group stressed.
The versatile engineering plastics with properties designed for heavy-duty components is used in particular in automobile production, medical technology and in plant and in mechanical engineering.
Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist
