BASF dissolves paper chemical division
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
The reorganization includes closing the Paper Chemicals division headquarters in Basel, Switzerland and cutting about 50 positions globally
FLORHAM PARK, NJ—BASF is dissolving its Paper Chemicals division and reorganizing its paper chemicals business. The move should be completed January 2015.
BASF is a leading global supplier to the paper industry and offers a range of chemical products for paper manufacturing and coating.
The current headquarters of the Paper Chemicals division in Basel, Switzerland will be closed by the end of 2014. BASF will shed about 50 positions globally as a result of the reorganization.
The business will be shifted to other divisions of BASF’s Performance Products segment as follows:
The wet-end chemicals and kaolin businesses will be integrated into the Performance Chemicals division, supplementing the polyacrylamide value chain. A new global business unit “Paper Chemicals” will be established within the Performance Chemicals division. BASF 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.
“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,” said Michael Heinz, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Performance Products segment.
BASF’s paper chemicals revenues hit 1.44 billion euros in 2013.
