BASF reorganizes paper chemicals operations

BASF is changing the organizational set-up of its paper chemicals business to strengthen its competitiveness and better meet the needs of the paper industry.

As of January 1, 2015, the Paper Chemicals division will be dissolved. The current headquarters of the Paper Chemicals division in Basel, Switzerland, will be closed by the end of 2014.

The business will be continued in other divisions of the Performance Products, with the wet-end chemicals and kaolin businesses integrated into the Performance Chemicals division, supplementing the polyacrylamide value chain, and a new global business unit Paper Chemicals to be established within the Performance Chemicals division.

BASF said it is evaluating strategic options for its paper hydrous kaolin business.

The paper dispersions business and the Center for Sustainable Paper Packaging (CSPP) will be integrated into the Dispersions & Pigments division, supplementing the latex dispersions value chain.

BASF sated that it remains committed to the paper chemicals industry, and it continues to analyze further measures to improve the competitiveness of the Performance Products segment.

Michael Heinz, member of the board of executive directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Performance Products segment, said: ‘Integrating the paper chemicals business along existing value chains will allow BASF to optimally steer plant capacity and leverage the advantages of the BASF Verbund.

‘This will strengthen our businesses and further increase the competitiveness of our Performance Products segment.’