INDONESIA – German multinational chemical company, BASF has announced plans to invest in the capacity expansion of polymer dispersions at its production site in Merak, Indonesia.
The expansion is in line with the growing trend of high-quality packaging in ASEAN where key paper and board manufacturers are located.
BASF Asia Pacific Dispersions senior vice president Bir Darbar Mehta said: “The expansion will bring additional supply reliability to fulfill the growing demand for acrylics and styrene-butadiene dispersions in the Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand markets.
“It shows our commitment to enhancing regional production and providing quick responses to fulfill growing customer demand.
“It also reinforces BASF’s position as one of the leading and reliable suppliers in the region. With proximity to key raw materials and flexibility to produce both styrene-butadiene and acrylic dispersions, Merak remains a key supply point for all our customers, especially in the area of paper coatings.”
The investments come at a time when the ASEAN market for high-quality packaging is fast growing, with a high concentration of major paper and board manufacturers looking to expand their capacities in the region.
The BASF Merak site is located near its monomer suppliers and has an on-site jetty to facilitate logistics. The production line enhancement will be completed in the second half of 2023.
The Indonesian facility, which opened its doors in 1994, creates polymer dispersions with a wide range of uses in construction, architectural coatings, and paper coatings.
The BASF Dispersions & Resins division creates, manufactures, and distributes a variety of polymer dispersions, resins, additives, and electronic materials globally.
These raw materials are used in various sectors, including coatings, construction, adhesives, printing and packaging, electronics and paper.
With its comprehensive product portfolio and its extensive knowledge of the industry, the Dispersions & Resins division offers its customers innovative and sustainable solutions and helps them advance their formulations.
Earlier last month, BASF partnered with functional packaging provider StePac to develop sustainable packaging for the fresh produce sector.
The partnership came shortly after StePac received REDcert2 certification to incorporate chemically recycled polyamide 6 into its modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) products.
BASF said it will supply StePac with its Ultramid Ccycled product, a chemically recycled polyamide 6 that will provide StePac with greater flexibility to advance contact-sensitive packaging formats to a higher sustainable standard within the circular economy.
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