With groundbreaking ceremonies for engineering thermoplastics and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) production units, BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) has sent its new EUR 10 bn “smart Verbund” integrated site at Zhanjiang, Guangdong / China on its way – see Plasteurope.com of 16.05.2019. Starting in 2022, compounding facilities for polyamide and PBT will add engineering plastics capacity of 60,000 t/y to the group’s total in China and raise its total capacity for engineering plastics in Asia Pacific to 290,000 t/y. The additional output is designed to meet growing demand from the region’s automotive, electronics and new energy vehicles (NEV) industries, BASF said.

The entire complex, which is also planned to include a steam cracker and various downstream plants, should be fully operational by 2030, supplying southern China and the Asian market generally. At the new site located near Donghai Island’s deep sea harbour, BASF will implement what it calls a “comprehensive smart manufacturing concept” that utilises automated packaging, high-tech control systems and automated guided vehicles. By employing the latest digital technologies and the highest safety standards, CEO Martin Brudermüller said Zhanjiang will be a role model for sustainable production and contribute to the development of a circular economy in China.

BASF’s seventh “Verbund” site is at the same time its largest investment in the People’s Republic and the first production complex it can operate completely on its own responsibility – thanks to a new policy introduced in 2018 that drops the requirement to take a Chinese joint venture partner. A new wholly owned subsidiary, provisionally called BASF Integrated Site (Guangdong), will oversee operations. Ultimately, the group said Zhanjiang will be its third largest site worldwide, behind Ludwigshafen and Antwerp / Belgium.