Elastogran (Lemförde / Germany; www.elastogran.com), the polyurethanes subsidiary of BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com), is to establish two system houses in Posnan / Poland and Bratislava / Slovakia to help meet growing demand in central and eastern Europe. BASF is already established in the region and has existing facilities in Hungary and Russia.

The company says that the market for PU systems in the Czech Republic and Slovakia is currently growing at over 7% annually, with sustained demand driven mainly by the automotive industry. Growth rates in Poland are also 7%, with demand from construction, cooling appliances and automotive industries. The new system house in Posnan will be commissioned in 2010 and the Bratislava facility will start local production and development of PU systems in 2009.