2017 turned out to be a record year for Basf Italia, as revealed by the financial results published by the company: its sales increased by 13% to 1,930 million euros (up from the 1,709 million recorded in 2016), and it thus recorded double-digit growth for the period. These great results were a result of significant growth in sales across most of the business segments, driven mainly by a more favourable economic climate in Italy.

“This growth in all the company’s lines of business together with record sales, amounting to 1.9 billion euros, recorded in 2017, once again underline Basf’s leading role within the chemicals sector and the fundamental role the company plays in supporting the country’s other industrial sectors. We have great faith in these signs of an economic upturn in Italy, a market of primary importance for our group, where we want to continue investing, also from an industrial point of view, in our production plants”, remarked Andreas Riehemann (in the picture), CEO of Basf Italia and Basf Group’s manager for Italy.

Basf’s performance in terms of industrial production was also positive, with the 2017 output of its 8 plants in Italy up by 6% on the previous year. Positive performances were recorded across all the areas of activity of Basf Italia, with significant increases above all in the Chemicals and Functional Materials & Solutions segments and other specific sectors, such as catalysts and varnishes. The company also recorded more than positive trends in segments where products and solutions reflect the excellence of Italian manufacturing, areas that were strongly supported by exports in 2017.

In addition, it is worth noting the range of services that the company offers the automotive sector, which includes the supply of engineering plastics for the construction of engine parts or components for interiors, the supply of OEM paints to important international firms and its many partnerships with leading carmakers within the body painting sector. Its products for the footwear sector have also recorded solid growth, with its production facilities in Villanova d'Asti — a centre for the development and production of polyurethane systems — playing a leading role in this sector thanks to a high rate of innovation and its relations with various partners on the national and international markets. The packaging business, a sector in which Basf offers a rich portfolio of products characterized by increasingly innovative solutions, developed strongly and proved able to meet the demand on the Italian market and the needs of consumers. The solutions with the most significant performance features include flexible packaging and digital printing products and solutions for sustainable packaging, such as compostable plastics with renewable content or products for the formulation of water-based inks.