Germany-based BASF SE, a chemical company that manufactures products including fine chemicals,
plastics and finishing products, has announced it will restructure its nylon 6 production in
Europe. The company will focus production at its integrated Verbund sites in Antwerp, Belgium, and
Ludwigshafen, Germany, and will discontinue production at its site in Rudolstadt, Germany, by the
end of 2010. The restructuring measures will result in the elimination of 58 positions in
Rudolstadt and 19 positions in Ludwigshafen. Affected employees at Ludwigshafen will be offered
other positions at the site, which will focus on manufacturing higher margin products. BASF will
continue operating a compounding plant in Rudolstadt for producing engineering plastics.
“By focusing on the large, backward-integrated Verbund sites, we are improving our cost basis
and safeguarding our competitiveness in the European polyamide 6 market,” said Dr. Harald Lauke,
head of Performance Polymers, BASF.
According to BASF, these restructuring measures in Europe will reduce the company’s annual
worldwide polymerization capacity by 40,000 tons to 680,000 tons, a reduction of approximately 6
percent.
September 15, 2009
