BASF invests big with new India PU facility

In what it describes as its biggest investment in that country, chemical maker BASF SE has opened a new €150 million (Cdn$212 million) production facility in Dahej, Gujarat, India.

The site includes an integrated hub for polyurethane manufacturing and production facilities for care chemicals and polymer dispersions. The integrated polyurethane manufacturing facility will host a MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) splitter for processing crude MDI, a core component in the manufacture of versatile polyurethane products. The MDI splitter is the first ever in South Asia, BASF said.

“The strengthening of our production platform in India is part of our investment plans for the Asia-Pacific region, in which we want to invest more than €10 billion between 2013 and 2020,” said Michael Heinz, member of the executive board of BASF SE. “The new location in Dahej will enhance our position as a local production supplier.”

In addition to an integrated production complex for polyurethane products the site also includes equipment for manufacture of ingredients for personal care products as well as for the detergents and cleaners industry and for the production of polymer dispersions.