On November 23, Basf officially launched its smart Verbund project in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, China, and commenced building its first plants. It marks a milestone of the company’s 10 billion dollars investment project announced in July 2018. The first plants will produce engineering plastics and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to serve the increasing needs of various growth industries in the southern China market and throughout Asia.

By 2022, the new engineering plastics compounding plant will supply an additional capacity of 60,000 metric tons per year in China, bringing Basf’s total capacity of these products in Asia Pacific to 290,000 metric tons per year. The new capacity will enable Basf to meet the growing demand of its customers, particularly in the automotive, electronics and new energy vehicles (NEV) industries.

Basf plans to implement a comprehensive smart manufacturing concept at the Verbund site based on cutting-edge technologies. The new site will utilize automated packaging, high-tech control systems, and automated guided vehicles. With the Zhanjiang Verbund site, Basf will also contribute to the advancement of the local community. The company is forming strategic partnerships with several local technical institutions to develop young technical talents. Basf Integrated Site (Guangdong), Basf’s new wholly-owned subsidiary, has also been officially formed. This entity will oversee the operations of the new Verbund site, underlining Basf’s commitment to the China market.