BASF inaugurates application centre for Plastic Additives in Switzerland

BASF recently inaugurated its new EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) application centre for Plastic Additives in Kaisten, Switzerland.

The new facility, located in the existing BASF production site, includes a state of the art compounding extruder, stretch film and tape lines, as well as an injection molding unit capable of simulating the polymer production and processing technology.

The facility can combine intelligent process automation and expertise that will increase the quality of plastics produced.

The new application centre serves as the regional technical support base for customers with applications such as polymer production and master batch.

It also serves leading players in the converting industry and is also the global competency centre for the automotive as well as the film and tape industry.

The state of the art facility is equipped with specialised equipment that can precisely simulate commercial production processes.

The test laboratory can expertly evaluate processing stabilisation, light stabilisation, long term stabilisation or effect performance of additives.

With the combination of this new innovative technical facility and the global experience of the dedicated teams, BASF is significantly better positioned to support the business success of its customers.

"The housing of existing innovation units and intelligent laboratories on one dedicated site will lead to both shorter development cycles and help our customers by reducing complexity.

"Supported by the latest digital technologies, we will continue to strengthen our development capabilities to not only to meet with customer needs but also to drive innovation that addresses the future market needs,” said Alberto Giovanzana, Head of Plastic Additives Europe, Africa and Middle East, BASF.

The existing BASF site located in Kaisten is well known for the production of plastic additives, such as antioxidants, which are added to plastics and lubricating oils to protect against ageing.

The site already houses a development lab for the form giving of additives and with the new investment, the site is now the European competence center for Plastic Additives in addition to the regional technical centres in Pontecchio Marconi, Italy and Ludwigshafen, Germany.

By combining the current application technology labs together with the Marketing and Product Management functions all on one site, it will enhance automation and deliver faster results to its customers. The BASF Plastic Additives business has five labs globally: the global competence centre, as well as the regional technical centre in Kaisten, and the regional technical centres in Pontecchio Marconi, Ludwigshafen, Shanghai (China) and Tarrytown (USA).