BASF is expanding its production footprint in Asia Pacific with the start-up of its first production plant for polymer dispersions in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia. This production plant is built at the existing BASF production site, located in the Pasir Gudang Industrial Park of the Johor Free Trade Zone. The plant is BASF’s third polymer dispersions plant in ASEAN, complementing the existing dispersions plants in Jakarta and Merak, Indonesia.
This wholly-owned BASF production plant will benefit from close proximity to raw materials such as the acrylic monomer complex at BASF PETRONAS Chemicals in Gebeng, Kuantan. Local production in Malaysia will enable BASF to better respond to the fast-changing market situation in Asia Pacific.
“The plant is built with BASF’s advanced production technology, which can accommodate a broad spectrum of acrylic products that are being developed in our Asia Technical Center in Shanghai, China. These cutting edge products with tailored properties can be made in this versatile production facility, addressing the increased customers’ requirement,” said Jeff Knight, Senior Vice President, Dispersions and Pigments, Asia Pacific.
“This new highly automated facility will provide flexibility for new product introduction and increase our production capacities for the next generation innovative polymer dispersions, meeting the growing demands in ASEAN. We are confident that this production plant will further strengthen our competitive edge and help customers for future success,” said Daniel Loh, Managing Director, BASF (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
The new plant will focus on the production of a variety of acrylic base polymer dispersions for decorative coatings, construction and adhesive industries, serving the entire Asia Pacific region, especially for South East Asia. Commercial production started at the beginning of 2015.
This investment represents another milestone in the implementation of BASF’s Asia Pacific strategy. By 2020, BASF aims for local production of approximately 75% of the products it sells in the Asia Pacific region in order to intensify its collaboration with and strengthen its supply position to customers in Asia Pacific. To achieve this, BASF is investing €10 billion together with its partners from 2013 to 2020 to further develop its local production footprint in Asia Pacific.
