Dec 7 2007
BASF Aktiengesellschaft – The Chemical Company – is reorganizing its businesses. With effect from January 1, 2008, the company will consist of the following six segments: Chemicals, Plastics, Functional Solutions, Performance Products, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas.
A new operating division, Care Chemicals, will be established in the Performance Products segment. In the Plastics segment, the Specialty Plastics and Foams business units will be transferred from the Styrenics division to the Performance Polymers division.
“We are focusing our businesses even more closely on our customers,” said Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF Aktiengesellschaft. “This will enable us to bring our products and system solutions faster to market and will create additional potential for value-adding growth. In addition, our investors will be better able to assess BASF because we are combining similar businesses in each of our segments.”
Greater orientation toward customer industries
The new segment Functional Solutions will combine the operating divisions Catalysts, Construction Chemicals and Coatings. These divisions work closely with their customers and supply industry- and customer-specific system solutions and innovative products, in particular for the automotive and construction industries.
The Performance Products segment will consist of the new Care Chemicals division and the Acrylics & Dispersions (previously Functional Polymers) and Performance Chemicals divisions. As a result, BASF will be better able to supply its customers worldwide with the products and innovations they need to optimize their products and processes.
The new Care Chemicals division will combine the activities of the former Fine Chemicals division – for example, products for the pharmaceutical industry and for food and feed, as well as aroma chemicals – with the Performance Chemicals division’s detergents and cleaners business. This will enable BASF to better serve the needs of its customers in the nutrition, cosmetics and personal care sectors of the consumer goods industry and in the pharmaceutical industry. The new division will employ approximately 4,600 employees worldwide and will be headed by Gabriel Tanbourgi. The division’s annual sales are approximately €3 billion.
The Performance Chemicals division provides solutions that can be used to optimize industrial goods. These solutions include performance chemicals for the oil and refinery industries, for coatings and plastics and for the leather and textile industries. The Performance Chemicals division will have around 5,000 employees worldwide and will be headed by Hans W. Reiners. The division’s annual sales are approximately €2 billion.
In the Plastics segment, the Specialty Plastics and Foams business units will be transferred from the Styrenics division to the Performance Polymers division. This structure reflects on the one hand the planned divestiture of the business with standard styrenics. On the other hand, by combining its competence in specialty plastics and foams with its businesses in the Performance Polymers division, BASF is also able to offer its customers optimal solutions for their requirements. The Performance Polymers division will account for approximately 5,000 employees worldwide. The division’s annual sales are approximately €5 billion.
Structures at the Ludwigshafen site further improved
The structures at BASF’s main site in Ludwigshafen will be further improved by building on the successes of the Site Project. The goal is to strengthen the network of knowledge and expertise among employees and to encourage the exchange of information about the environment, health, safety, energy and engineering throughout BASF. The global roles of the Environment, Health & Safety and Engineering & Maintenance competence centers will be strengthened in order to achieve this.
Board responsibilities
In connection with the reorganization of the segments and divisions, responsibilities within the Board of Executive Directors will be as follows effective January 1, 2008:
- Dr. Jürgen Hambrecht, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, Legal, Taxes & Insurance, Strategic Planning & Controlling, Communications BASF Group, Global HR – Executive Management & Development, Investor Relations, Chief Compliance Officer
- Eggert Voscherau, Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, Human Resources, Environment, Health & Safety, Verbund Site Management Europe, Engineering & Maintenance, Corporate & Governmental Relations, Project: Diversity
- Dr. Kurt Bock, Chief Financial Officer, Finance, Information Services, Corporate Controlling, Corporate Audit, Catalysts, Market & Business Development NAFTA, Regional Functions NAFTA
- Dr. John Feldmann, Construction Chemicals, Acrylics & Dispersions, Care Chemicals, Performance Chemicals, Styrenics, Polymer Research
- Dr. Wolfgang Büchele, Oil & Gas, Europe, Global Procurement & Logistics
- Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer, Research Executive Director, Inorganics, Petrochemicals, Intermediates, Chemicals Research & Engineering, BASF Future Business
- Dr. Stefan Marcinowski, Crop Protection, BASF Plant Science, Coatings, Specialty Chemicals Research, South America
- Dr. Martin Brudermüller, Performance Polymers, Polyurethanes, Market & Business Development Asia Pacific, Regional Functions & Country Management Asia Pacific
Dr. Harald Schwager will assume the following responsibilities following the Annual Meeting 2008: Human Resources, Environment, Health & Safety, Verbund Site Management Europe, Engineering & Maintenance, Corporate & Governmental Relations, Project: Diversity.