BASF Strengthens Performance
Products Segment
BASF is taking a number of steps to
strengthen the competitiveness of its
Performance Products segment. The segment bundles BASF’s businesses with
chemicals that improve the properties of
many different end-user products. The
portfolio includes ingredients for personal
care, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastic
additives, pigments and paper chemicals
as well as chemicals used in oil and gas
production and mining. In some market
segments, increasing standardization and
the entry of new competitors have changed
the business environment significantly.
This especially applies to the markets for
plastic additives and pigments as well as
for water, leather and textile chemicals.
BASF aims to adapt its businesses to
the changed market environment and significantly increase competitiveness in the
coming years by streamlining processes,
investing in new technologies and adjusting its portfolio and its organizational
setup. The currently planned measures will
lead to a reduction of approximately 500
positions worldwide by the end of 2015.
“The expansion of our specialty busi-
ness in the Performance Products segment
made us more robust to economic fluc-
tuations,” said Michael Heinz, member of
the Board of Executive Directors of BASF
SE and responsible for the Performance
Products segment. “However, the growth
and profitability of the standard products
do not yet meet our requirements. We have
therefore identified numerous measures,
which we are implementing step by step.
Further measures are being analyzed.”
BASF aims to improve the efficiency
and profitability of the plastic additives
and pigments and resins business units
in Europe, which are mainly located in
the Basel area. In the pigments and res-
ins business unit, European product and
quality management and product safety
will be pooled in Ludwigshafen. Global
product management lead will be bun-
dled in Hong Kong. In this way, synergies
can be generated by bundling expertise
and competencies.
In the Plastic Additives business, a
more market-oriented approach will be
introduced. The product-related development and application technology will
sharpen its focus on key topics and customer industries and will be organized
more efficiently through a network of
global competence centers in different
locations worldwide. In addition, supporting functions, such as technology and
strategy management as well as controlling, will be consolidated in Ludwigshafen
The restructuring will lead to a reduction of a total of up to 350 positions in
the Basel area by the end of 2015. This
includes the pooling of tasks at other
sites. BASF aims to implement the job
reductions related to the restructuring
measures in the Basel area in a socially
responsible manner. BASF will attempt
to find job opportunities in other BASF
Group companies for as many employees
as possible.
Malvern Instruments and
Netzsh Sign Agreement
Materials and biophysical characterization company Malvern Instruments Ltd.
and Netzsch Grinding and Dispersing
have entered into a cooperative marketing agreement. Both organizations serve a
broad range of market sectors from pharmaceuticals, ceramics, nano-technology
applications, food and surface coatings
through to mining metals and minerals.
The global agreement, initially in place
for three years, will harness the strength
of each company’s world-leading brands
and unique expertise in materials processing and materials characterization. Under
the terms of the agreement Netzsch will
standardize on Malvern’s particle sizing
and characterization equipment, primarily the Mastersizer 3000 laser diffraction
particle size analyzer. Customers and prospective customers of each company will
gain access both to the extensive milling
knowledge of the Netzsch teams and to
the particle sizing know-how of Malvern
Instruments. This combined approach
supports the further development of solutions and services to meet increasingly
specific individual customer needs.
Initially, Malvern Mastersizer 3000
systems will be installed in Netzsch demonstration and test laboratories in key
territories around the world - Germany,
U.S, Brazil, China, Korea, India and
Russia. All trials, demonstrations and
toll-production carried out by Netzsch
on customers’ materials in Netzsch facilities will be routinely tested using Malvern
instrumentation, with Malvern’s applications experts in each territory available
to support the understanding and interpretation of data, as required. Jointly
organized seminars and other initiatives
will be targeted at key market sectors to
deliver valuable information and support
to customers and potential customers of
either or both companies.
American Chemical
Society’s CM&E Group
Gives Award to Odebrecht
Chemical Marketing and Economics
(CM&E), the business and investment group of the American Chemical
Society’s New York Section (ACS NY),
has awarded Marcelo Odebrecht, president and CEO of Odebrecht S.A., with
the Leadership Award for Outstanding
Global Growth, which recognizes the
exceptional contribution to the advancement of society and in particular to the
chemical industry through Braskem, a
company that is controlled by Odebrecht.
The award will be presented at a ceremony in the New York City Yale Club
on December 5, 2013 as part of CM&E’s
Fourth Annual Mergers and Acquisitions
event in which two other honorees will also
be recognized for a lifetime of achievement
and for distinction in private equity. Under
the leadership of Marcelo Odebrecht,
Odebrecht S.A. has become a prominent
builder of the continent of South America
