BASF Restructuring European Polyamide Production

Ludwigshafen, Germany, Sept. 9, 2009--BASF said it is restructuring its production of polyamide 6 in Europe.

Production will be bundled at BASF’s two Verbund sites in Antwerp, Belgium, and Ludwigshafen, Germany. The production of polyamide 6 at a third European production site in Rudolstadt in the German state of Thuringia will be discontinued at the end of 2010.

“By focusing on the large, backward-integrated Verbund sites, we are improving our cost basis and safeguarding our competitiveness in the European polyamide 6 market,” said Harald Lauke, head of BASF’s Performance Polymers division.

In Ludwigshafen, production will focus on higher margin products.

The measures in Europe will reduce BASF’s annual worldwide polymerization capacity by 40,000 tons to 680,000 tons (polyamide 6 and 6.6). This corresponds to a reduction of about 6 percent.