BASF is one of the world's largest integrated chemicals companies with a portfolio ranging from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. In 2008, BASF had around 97,000 employees and sales of Euro62bn.
History
On 3 July 2006, BASF completed the $470m acquisition of Johnson Polymer. The deal was closed on 1 July 2006, following approval from the relevant antitrust authorities.
On 12 June 2006, BASF completed the acquisition of Engelhard. Engelhard is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF and has been de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange.
BASF acquires Ciba
BASF completes Ciba acquisition, starts integration process
On 9 April 2009, BASF acquired Ciba and will start the process of fully integrating the company into its operations. BASF now holds 95.8% of Ciba.
In March 2009, the European Commission (EC) cleared BASF’s acquisition of Ciba as BASF committed to divesting some business lines to address competition concerns.
In addition, BASF had extended the deadline for the closing of the transaction by four weeks until 9 April 2009.
In February 2009, BASF said it would implement initial organisational changes from April 2009 after the closure of its Ciba Specialty Chemicals acquisition.
(For more on this story please go to ICIS news).
BASF reorganises its petrochemicals division
On 1 July 2009, BASF reorganised its petrochemicals division. BASF consists of four (formerly six) business units.
The details of the reorganisation are as follows:
The new business unit Basic Petrochemicals Europe comprises the businesses for cracker products and industrial gases as well as alkylene oxides and glycols in Europe.
The businesses for acrylics as well as alcohols, solvents and plasticisers in Europe will be consolidated in the new business unit Industrial Petrochemicals Europe.
All businesses of the petrochemicals division in North America will be consolidated in the business unit Petrochemicals North America.
All businesses of the Petrochemicals division in Asia Pacific will be consolidated in the business unit Petrochemicals Asia Pacific.
For more on this please see BASF reorganises petchems division, 45 jobs to go or go to ICIS news.
More company movements
In September 2009, BASF said it plans to sell its Brazilian polystyrene (PS) business to a subsidiary of local company Unigel. For more on this please see BASF sells Brazilian styrenic business to Unigel on ICIS news.
BASF is divided into the following segments:
Chemicals
This segment comprises of inorganics, catalysts, petrochemicals and intermediates. Key customers include the mineral, oil, chemical, pharmaceutical, electronics, textile and automotive industries.
Petrochemicals - Mainly for captive use: petrochemical feedstocks such as ethylene, propylene and benzene; broad range of plasticisers; and oxygenated, halogen-free solvents for pharmaceutical, paint and cosmetic products.
Inorganic chemicals - Products include ammonia, chlorine, sulphuric acid, catalysts, formaldehyde, melamine, glues and impregnating resins.
Intermediates - Amines, diols, polyalcohols, carboxy and dyestuff intermediates, carboxylic acids and precursors for fine chemicals.
Catalysts – Primarily composed of catalysts and the material services business from the acquired Engelhard business.
Plastics
This segment consists of styrenics, performance polymers and polyurethanes. Its main customers are in the automotive, packaging, construction and electrical and electronics industries.
Engineering plastics - copolymers such as styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), nylons, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyoxymethylene (POM) and high-temperature thermoplastics.
Biodegradable plastics – such as BASF’s completely biodegradable plastic Ecoflex used for rubbish bags or disposable packaging. Ecoflex decomposes in soil or in compost within a few weeks without leaving any residues.
Polyurethanes - Basic polyurethane products: polyols and isocyanates; polyurethane systems; polyurethane elastomers.
Fibre products - Fibre intermediates such as caprolactam, adipic acid and hexamethylenediamine; nylon-based fibres and filaments.
SolVin - a joint venture between Solvay (75% share) and BASF (25% share). SolVin claims to be the biggest integrated player from chlorine via ethylene dichloride (EDC), vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and via polyvinylidene chloride (VDC) to polyvinyl dichloride (PVDC) in Europe, having operations in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Performance Products
This segment markets a range of products for the textile, automotive and paper industries, as well as detergents, hygiene, adhesives and construction materials.
Performance chemicals - Dyes and process chemicals for textiles, leather and office use; pigments and specific pigment preparations; printing inks and printing plates for the graphics industry.
Acrylics and dispersions - Acrylic acid and acrylates, acrylate and styrene/butadiene dispersions; raw materials for paints and adhesives, coatings and glues; dyes and process chemicals for the paper industry.
Coatings - Automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and refinish coatings; industrial coatings; decorative paints. The colourants for coatings and coatings raw materials businesses have been combined under a new operating sector, performance chemicals for coatings.
Foams - Styrenic and styrene-based polymers, such as polystyrene, expandable (Styropor) and speciality foams such as Styrodur.
Care Chemicals – this division combines all activities that contribute to people’s well-being. These include vitamins for food supplements and light stabilisers for sun creams.
Functional Solutions
This segment integrates three operating divisions that develop system solutions and innovative products for specific customers and industries, in particular for the automotive and construction sectors:
Catalysts
Construction Chemicals
Coatings
Agriculture Solutions
Crop protection products safeguard crops against fungal disease, insects and weeds. Research in the field of plant biotechnology focuses on crops for more efficient agriculture, healthier nutrition and for use as renewable raw materials.
Crop protection - Crop protection products to control weeds (herbicides), insects (insecticides) and plant diseases caused by fungi (fungicides).
Oil and Gas
Its subsidiary Wintershall and its affiliates conduct the operations of its Oil and Gas segment, which include:
The exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas
Crude oil and natural gas trading
The leasing of natural gas transportation and storage capacity