BASF has announced that it is planning the expansion of the vinylformamide (VFA) manufacturing facility in Ludwigshafen. The company has planned to increase the capacity of the polymerization process in Ludwigshafen and also intends to construct a new VFA polymerization line in China in order to carry out additional feedstock processing from Ludwigshafen.
BASF will construct this new plant at the Zhenjiang location in Jiangsu province. The company has made an overall investment in the three-digit million euro range. The new facility will create approximately 40 new jobs across the globe. It is scheduled to commence production by 2014 end.
Vinylformamide is an essential feedstock for use in water soluble, cationic polymers. The paper industry uses these materials in order to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing method. Polyvinylamine (PVAm) product line, based on VFA, has enabled paper producers to manufacture more eco-friendly papers at lower costs.
BASF with its expanding facility will be able to cater to paper manufacturers across the globe. According to BASF Paper Chemicals division’s President, Dr. Uwe Liebelt, the capacity extension in Ludwigshafen will facilitate the company to meet the increasing requirement for polyvinylamine. Paper manufacturers in the Americas and Europe as well as in Asia experience more pressure to minimize their operation expenses.
The company’s Paper Chemicals division provides process chemicals in order to optimize expenses and increase efficiency of machines, functional chemicals to offer definite properties to manufactured paper, and finishing chemicals to enhance the performance features and appearance of printed paper and board.
Source: http://www.basf.com/