Bahrain to be a key base in plastic polymer in the Middle East region

Bahrain - September 13, 2011 - BASF broke ground at a site at Bahrain International Investment Park where it will construct a world class multi-million dollar plastic additives facility. Dr. Hassan Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce of the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as BASF's Dr. Jürgen Barwich, Head of Region Turkey, Middle East and North Africa, and John Frijns, Head of Business Line of  Plastic Additives, attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the new facility.

During his speech at the ceremony, Dr. Hassan Fakhro underlined the future contribution of BASF's investment to Bahrain's economy: "We are very pleased that BASF has chosen to locate this major new manufacturing investment in Bahrain. Their decision is a testament to the quality of the location and to the competitive advantages that Bahrain offers to global investors. This investment will further strengthen Bahrain's position in the chemicals industry and support long term economic growth in our country."  

The new BASF facility, a modern, world-scale production plant for customer specific antioxidant blends (CSB) in the Middle East, is expected to come on stream in 2012.   To ensure flexibility, production will be done on multiple lines. The facility will incorporate the latest BASF technology with a high degree of automation.

BASF's regional head Dr. Jürgen Barwich also noted that the facility will play a strategic role in the fast growing plastics industry in the Middle East region: "This is a considerable investment by BASF, reflecting our commitment to the region. The facility will bring the latest technology to the production of plastic additives, ensuring consistent high quality outputs and international standards. Obviously the most modern environmental standards are maintained. And by building this plant here in Bahrain, we are ideally placed geographically to benefit customers in this segment. This facility will be a significant addition to BASF's existing plastic additive plants around the world in Asia, Europe and the Americas. It creates a formidable network of production plants that will ensure."

BASF's new investment has been spurred by a supply agreement with Astra Polymer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the opportunities presented by countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), considered possibly the fastest growing sector for the production of polyolefin resins worldwide.

-Ends-

About BASF
BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and agricultural products to oil and gas. As the world's largest supplier of chemical products to the automotive industry, BASF is a reliable, competent partner to the industry throughout the value chain, for automotive manufacturers and suppliers and in customer service. BASF offers a wide range of products for use in the automotive industry, from technical plastics, polyurethane and special foams, styrene plastics, paints and fuel additives to catalysts, pigments, coolants and brake fluids, and chemicals for leather and textiles. BASF posted sales of approximately €63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF is listed on the stock markets in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). More information about BASF is available online at www.basf.com and in the Social Media Newsroom at newsroom.basf.com.

© Press Release 2011