Chemical giants BASF (D-67056 Ludwigshafen; www.basf.com) and Honeywell (Morristown, New Jersey / USA; www.honeywell.com) have agreed to swap assets in polyamide. BASF will acquire Honeywell´s PA 6 and PA 6.6-based engineering plastics portfolio, while Honeywell will take over BASF´s USD 80m nylon fibres businesses based in the US and China. The transactions include production and R&D facilities, sales and technical services and are subject to approval by regulatory authorities. Both portfolios have annual sales of USD 350m. At the deal´s closing, expected for mid 2003, BASF will pay Honeywell USD 170m for the plastics assets. A year later, the US group will pay BASF USD 80m for the fibres businesses.

While most of Honeywell´s PA plastics production – part of AlliedSignal before the merger in 2000 – is in the US, it also has a 30,000 t/y plant at Rudolstadt in eastern Germany. The deal will further expand BASF´s position as one of the PA market´s top players on the plastics side (trade name “Ultramid”). In Europe, where it is number one, the current annual capacity is an estimated 180,000 tonnes. Incorporating BASF´s PA 6 carpet fibres and textile products such as yarns for automobile headliner fabrics will push Honeywell´s annual PA fibres sales forward to USD 1 bn and allow “greater economies of scale,” the company said. All of BASF´s 1,600 PA fibres employees will transfer to Honeywell, while 500 Honeywell plastics staff in future will work for BASF.

John Feldmann, BASF managing board member for plastics and fibres, said his company is “focusing on those products where we can offer a competitive edge.” With the PA additions, which Feldmann said will “open new markets and applications,” sales of BASF´s engineering plastics division will rise to nearly USD 2 bn. The figure includes assets in PBT, POM, PES and PSU, as well as PA intermediates, which BASF plans to retain. The company also produces styrenic polymers and polyurethanes.