BASF

From ArticleWorld

BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin-und-Soda-Fabrik. BASF is a German chemical company and the biggest chemical company in the world.

The BASF Group comprises more than 160 subsidiaries and joint ventures and operates production sites in 41 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen am Rhein (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). At the end of 2003, the company employed more than 87,000 people, with over 48,000 in Germany alone. BASF has customers in over 170 countries and supplies about 8,000 products to a wide variety of industries. In 2003, BASF posted sales of €33.4 billion and income from operations before special items of almost €3 billion. The company is currently expanding its international activities with a particular focus on Asia. Between 1990 and 2005, the company will invest €5.6 billion in Asia, for example in sites near Nanjing and Shanghai, China. The company's North American Headquarters is located in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Examples: 1 Styrene, 2 Styrene-based polymers and copolymers, 3 Caprolactam and nylon, 4 Engineering plastics, 5 Polyurethane basic materials and polyurethane systems, 6 Specialty elastomers.

Agricultural Products & Nutrition

ASF is a major supplier of agricultural products and fine chemicals to the farming, food processing, pharmaceuticals, animal and human nutrition and personal care industries. Our research activities in plant biotechnology focus on solutions for effective agriculture, healthier nutrition and plants to make products more efficiently.

Examples: 1 Herbicides, 2 Fungicides, 3 Insecticides, 4 Vitamins, 5 Pharmaceutical active ingredients, 6 UV absorbers.

BASF is one of the leading global producers of styrenics. Our engineering plastics are sold to high-performance plastic molders and manufacturers in many industries, while our polyurethanes are used in many applications all over the world.