Against the backdrop of an expected 6% increase in demand in Korea in the next 5 years, BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) has decided to raise capacity at its engineering plastics plant in Ansan by 13,000 t/y, bringing the site’s total capacity to 30,000 t/y. The expansion is due to come on stream by the end of this year.

BASF produces “Ultramid” polyamide and “Ultradur” PBT compounds at Ansan, both materials that are largely used in the automotive and electrical and electronics industries. The site also boasts a Technical Centre, which is part of the German group’s global network for engineering plastics.

BASF had just announced a capacity expansion at its site in Pudong / China – see Plasteurope.com of 17.01.2011. Together with the new capacity coming on stream in Ansan, the group will have more than 220,000 t/y of engineering plastics capacity in Asia 2015.

For financial 2010, BASF recently reported record sales and earnings, with all engineering plastics businesses enjoying higher demand – see Plasteurope.com of 25.02.2011.