BASF is spending some €7 million to expand and upgrade coating resins production at its Münster, Germany, site by 2016. Along with lengthening capacity by an undisclosed margin, the investment will also "significantly" improve energy efficiency and environmental performance, the world's largest chemical producer said.

"With this investment, we are primarily strengthening the competitiveness of the Münster site," said Walter Jouck, head of operations Coatings Europe at BASF. By expanding resins capacity he said BASF is adapting production to future market development, especially in the automotive industry.

Parallel to the capacity upgrade at home, the German group also is building a new coating resins plant in Shanghai, China, to meet growing demand for automotive OEM coatings in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Resins in the BASF coatings portfolio are used by automotive OEMs as well as automotive refinish companies. The group's Coatings division had sales of nearly €3 billion in 2012; results for 2013 will be announced at the end of February.