BASF Celebrates 25th Anniversary of PolyTHF®

Germany-based specialty chemicals and intermediates manufacturer BASF SE is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its first polytetrahydrofuran production plant, located at its Verbund integrated production site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Marketed under the brand name PolyTHF® and used primarily as a raw material for the production of eleastane fibers, the intermediate initially had an annual production capacity of 4,000 tons at that first plant. Capacity has grown to 185,000 tons globally, with the building of a second plant and expansions in Ludwigshafen, as well as plants in Geismar, La.; South Korea; and China.

This year, BASF will open a PolyTHF application laboratory at its China-based Shanghai-Pudong facility; and will expand its technical customer service in Asia, especially for the elastane markets, but also for thermoplastic polyurethane and polyether ester elastomer markets. The lab utilizes modern polymer analytics and will be able to provide testing and synthesizing services, including developing and refining formulations for customers, among other services.

September 23, 2008