OREANDA-NEWS. BASF Shanghai Coatings Co., Ltd. inaugurated its new automotive coatings plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Shanghai, China. The expansion of its automotive coatings production capacity with an investment of around EUR 50 million further strengthens BASF's presence in China and its position as a leading coatings supplier to the automotive industry.

"BASF is the leading chemical partner for the automotive industry. This investment further signifies our commitment to our automotive customers and to supporting the dynamic growth of China's automotive market," said Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and Research Executive Director.

The plant is equipped with state-of-the-art ventilation and off gas treatment, ensuring a clean environment in and around the plant. In addition, it is specially designed to have a closed handling of ingredients. "Our new plant is designed according to the latest and most environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and technologies," said Peter Fischer, Senior Vice President, Coatings Solutions Asia Pacific, BASF. "Our innovative processes and high-performance automotive coatings help our customers to achieve their efficiency targets and to stay competitive."

"We plan our investments according to the anticipated market development and customer demands. We will continue to invest in strengthening our local production in China and Asia to respond even faster to our customers," added Dr. Albert Heuser, President Functions Asia Pacific, President and Chairman Greater China, BASF.

The new automotive coatings plant is located adjacent to another new BASF resin and electrocoat plant which will start operation in the second half of 2015. The close proximity of these two plants with access to facilities of BASF Caojing site and the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park will allow greater synergies and operational efficiency.

BASF Shanghai Coatings Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between BASF Group and Shanghai Huayi Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., with more than 17 years of successful partnership.