BASF

BASF AG is a German chemical company. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin-und-Soda-Fabrik (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory). Today, the four letters are a registered trademark. It is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The BASF Group comprises more than 160 subsidiaries and joint ventures and operates production sites in 41 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen am Rhein (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). At the end of 2003, the company employed more than 87,000 people, with over 48,000 in Germany alone. BASF has customers in over 170 countries and supplies about 8,000 products to a wide variety of industries. In 2003, BASF posted sales of ?33.4 billion and income from operations before special items of almost ?3 billion. The company is currently expanding its international activities with a particular focus on Asia. Between 1990 and 2005, the company will invest ?5.6 billion in Asia, for example in sites near Nanjing and Shanghai, China.

Business segments

BASF operates in a variety of markets. Its business is organized in the segments Chemicals, Plastics, Performance Products, Agricultural Products & Nutrition and Oil & Gas.

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Chemicals

BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.

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Plastics

BASF is the international leading producer of styrenics. Engineering plastics are sold to injection molders in a variety of industries. BASF?s polyurethanes have very diverse uses worldwide.

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Performance Products

BASF produces a range of performance chemicals, coatings and functional polymers. These include raw materials for detergents, textile and leather chemicals, pigments and raw materials for adhesives. Customers are the automotive, oil, paper, packaging, textile, sanitary products, detergents, construction materials, coatings, printing and leather industries.

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Agricultural Products & Nutrition

BASF is a supplier of agricultural products and fine chemicals for agriculture and animal nutrition, and for the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. In the field of plant biotechnology, BASF is concentrating on solutions for effective agriculture, healthier nutrition and plants to make products more efficiently. Products from this segment include fungicides, pesticides, herbicides, vitamins, pharmaceutical active ingredients and UV absorbers for sun creams.

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Oil & Gas

BASF explores for and produces oil and gas through its subsidiary Wintershall AG. In Central and Eastern Europe, Wintershall works with its Russian partner Gazprom.

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