OREANDA-NEWS. BASF today inaugurated its new resin and electrocoat plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) in Shanghai. In line with BASF's approach to stay close to customers worldwide, this new plant will further strengthen BASF's local manufacturing footprint in Asia Pacific and create close to 70 new jobs at the site.

During the opening ceremony, Dr. Markus Kamieth, President of BASF Coatings, said: "This plant is a vital addition to our global manufacturing network of high quality coatings. It demonstrates our strong commitment to supporting the automotive industry's long-term growth in Asia Pacific."

Dr. Albert Heuser, President Functions Asia Pacific, President and Chairman Greater China, BASF, added: "As part of our Asia Pacific strategy, we aim to produce locally 75% of what we sell in Asia Pacific. With this investment in a local production facility, we are well-positioned to provide our customers in the region with customized solutions in a timely manner."

"This plant, together with the automotive coatings plant we opened last year, provides the capacity we need to support our customers' growth and success. We will keep on investing in research and development, applications technology and production capacities in Asian markets to fulfill the increasing demands of our customers," said Peter Fischer, Senior Vice President, Coatings Solutions Asia Pacific, BASF.

Strategically located next to each other at SCIP, this new resin plant is fully integrated in the new automotive coatings plant to create more synergies and high production efficiency. The production facilities strengthen BASF's position as a leading and innovative coatings supplier to the growing industries, notably the automotive industry, in the region.