BASF will expand the compounding capacities for engineering plastics in Europe by increasing the production capacity of Ultramid polyamide (PA) and Ultradur polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)) by 70,000 metric tonnes per year at the Schwarzheide site in Germany from 2017. Once materialised, the expansion will raise BASF’s global compounding capacity for PA and PBT o more than 7,00,000 metric tonnes per year.
This is another step in the capacity expansions which BASF is undertaking because of the increasing demand for engineering plastics around the world. In the middle of this year, BASF more than doubled its compounding capacities for the two materials in Shanghai and also increased the capacities for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). In October 2015, the company started operations at a plant for compounding Ultramid and Ultradur in Korea.
“With this expansion we strengthen our leading position in engineering plastics in Europe. By investing in highly efficient plants we help our customers to meet the increased demands on the materials, eg for large-volume and globally manufactured components in the automotive industry. As a reliable partner, we thus support the growth of our customers and help them to overcome challenges such as lightweight construction and emission reduction with innovations,” said Dr Melanie Maas-Brunner, head of BASF’s performance materials Europe division.
The engineering plastics Ultramid and Ultradur are processed into high-performance components in the automotive industry, the electrical and electronics sector as well as in the construction and furniture industries. Examples of such components are car seat structures, oil pans, engine mounts, sensors and connectors, chairs and fixings. The current innovations include the world’s first rear axle transmission cross beam in the Mercedes S-class, the Belleville design chair from Vitra, and also power semiconductor modules from the company Semikron.
