BASF (Ludwigshafen / Germany; www.basf.com) has taken a further step in the process of divesting its global styrenic activities with the reorganisation of the business into new subsidiaries. The new companies are expected to be established in January 2009. The scope of the divestment, which ran into problems in July 2008 due to a lack of potential purchasers with sufficient financial backing – see Plasteurope.com of 09.07.2008 – is also to be expanded to include the styrene copolymer business. The expansion includes styrenic copolymer production plants in Ludwigshafen and Schwarzheide in Germany and the company’s styrene copolymer global marketing, sales and logistics activities.

The new subsidiaries will operate the global styrenics activities independently and will incorporate BASF’s SM, PS, SBS and ABS businesses and the “Terblend” N (ABS/PA), “Terluran” HH (ABS-HH), “Terlux” (MABS), “Styroflex” (SBS) and “Luran” (SAN), HH (AMSAN) and S (ASA) styrene copolymer brands.

The styrenic commodities and copolymers business has around 1,600 employees had reported sales of approximately EUR 4 bn in 2007. It has production sites in Antwerp / Belgium; Ludwigshafen and Schwarzheide in Germany; Altamira / Mexico; São José dos Campos / Brazil; Dahej / India; and Ulsan / South Korea. BASF will concentrate its remaining styrenic plastics activities on its foams business for the construction and packaging industries as part of the performance polymers division.