The BASF Group

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees contribute to the BASF Group’s success worldwide. Our business comprises the Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions segments.

BASF Group

2023 – At a glance

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility.

Our customer portfolio ranges from major global customers and small and medium-size enterprises to end consumers in nearly all sectors.

Segment data

The segment supplies BASF’s other segments and

customers with basic chemicals and intermediates.

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The segment offers chemical solutions for surfaces and automotive coatings, as well as battery materials and catalysts.

The segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for the plastics and plastics processing industries.

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The segment produces ingredients and solutions for consumer applications such as human and animal nutrition, and home and personal care.

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The segment is an integrated provider of seeds, crop protection and digital solutions for the agricultural sector.

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The segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications.

Sites and Verbund

As one of the world’s largest chemical companies, BASF is present in 93 countries. We operate 234 production sites worldwide. We laid the foundation for the Verbund concept in Ludwigshafen, Germany, in 1865 – and it remains one of our key strengths to this day. Intelligently linking and steering our Verbund plants creates efficient value chains – from basic chemicals to high value-added solutions. The Verbund enables us to manage our production in a resourceefficient, carbon-optimized and reliable way. By-products from onefacility are used as feedstocks elsewhere, for example. This saves raw materials and energy, avoids emissions, lowers logistics costs and leverages synergies.

Steam cracker II, the largest individual plant at BASF's Ludwigshafen site, covers a surface area of about 64,000 square meters, which is about the size of 13 soccer fields. The steam cracker is also the heart of BASF's Verbund production strategy. This giant plant has been operating since 1981 and uses steam to crack naphtha at about 850°C [1,562°F]. This process leads primarily to ethylene and propylene, both indispensable feedstocks for manufacturing numerous products in Ludwigshafen.

Steam cracker at BASF's Ludwigshafen site

The busy construction at the BASF Zhanjiang Verbund site (as of December 2023).jpeg

BASF Zhanjiang Verbund site (in construction)

In addition to Ludwigshafen, Germany, BASF operates five other Verbund sites in Antwerp, Belgium; Freeport, Texas; Geismar, Louisiana; Kuantan, Malaysia; and Nanjing, China. Another Verbund site is being built in Zhanjiang in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. Following the startup of the engineering plastics plant in 2022, a plant for the production of thermoplastic polyurethanes came onstream there in 2023.

Organization of the BASF Group

In the new research building B007, BASF research moves closer together. Here, scientists from material physics, formulation and specialty chemicals research work door-to-door. They develop new solutions together with polymer chemists in the neighboring building. A bridge, shortening paths, interconnects the two buildings.

Furthermore, open communication areas facilitate exchange between the scientific disciplines. This stimulates creative ideas, and benefits the efficient development of effective solutions.

Sabine Hirth (left), Karsten Seidel (middle left) and Bernhard von Vacano (middle right), from Material Physics, together with Fangfang Chu (right), chemist at Formulation Research, exchange experience and discuss research findings.

This segment structure enables us to steer our businesses according to market-specific requirements and the competitive environment. We provide a high level of transparency around the results of our segments and show the importance of the Verbund and value chains to our business success. The operating divisions, the service units, the regions, research and development and the corporate center are the cornerstones of the BASF organization. This organizational structure lays the foundation for customer proximity, competitiveness and profitable growth. BASF aims to differentiate its businesses from their competitors to enable BASF to perform even more strongly in an increasingly competitive market environment.

The divisions bear strategic and operational responsibility and are organized according to sectors or products. They manage the 49 global and regional business units and develop strategies for 70 strategic business units.

Five service units provide competitive services for the operating divisions and sites: Global Engineering Services, Global Digital Services, Global Procurement, European Site & Verbund Management and Global Business Services (finance and controlling, human resources, safety, intellectual property, communications, procurement, supply chain and in-house consulting services).

BASF’s regional and national companies represent the Group locally and support the growth of the operating divisions with local proximity to customers. For financial reporting purposes, we organize the regional companies into four regions: Europe; North America; Asia Pacific; and South America, Africa and Middle East.

Our specific research and development units are integrated into the divisions, and activities with broad relevance for our businesses are bundled in a research division. This division is globally positioned with research centers in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. With this setup, we are focusing our research activities even more strongly on our customers and their needs.

The Corporate Center supports the Board of Executive Directors in steering the company as a whole. This steering includes central tasks from the following areas: strategy, finance and controlling, law, compliance and insurance, tax, environmental protection, health, safety and quality, human resources, communications, investor relations, corporate audit and the Net Zero Accelerator unit.

Procurement and Sales Markets

BASF supplies products and services to over 78,000 customers¹ from various sectors in almost every country in the world. Our customer portfolio ranges from major global customers and small and medium-sized enterprises to end consumers.

We work with over 70,000 Tier 1 suppliers² worldwide. They supply us with important raw materials, chemicals, investment goods and consumables, and perform a range of services. Important raw materials (based on volume) include naphtha, liquid gas, natural gas, benzene and caustic soda.

_{1 The number of customers refers to all external companies (sold-to parties) that had contracts with the BASF Group in the business year concerned under which sales were generated.}

_{2 BASF considers all direct suppliers of the BASF Group in the business year concerned as Tier 1 suppliers. These are suppliers that provide us with raw materials, investment goods, consumables and services. Suppliers can be natural persons, companies or legal persons under public law.}

Business and Competitive Environment

Master of Maintenance Christian Kieweg (l.) and Plant Operator Kevin Noack during inspection at a PBT plant on the production site of BASF Schwarzheide, Germany. A state-of-the art plant for the production of cathode materials is to be built at this site in 2022.

BASF’s global presence means that it operates in the context of various local, regional and global developments.

These include:

Global economic and political environment
Legal and political requirements
International trade agreements
Industry standards
Environmental agreements (e.g. E.U. Emissions Trading System)
Social aspects (e.g. U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

BASF holds one of the top three market positions in around 80% of the business areas in which it is active. Our most important global competitors include Arkema, Bayer, Celanese, Clariant, Corteva, Covestro, Dow, DSM-Firmenich, Evonik, Huntsman, SABIC, Sinopec, Solvay, Syngenta, Wanhua and many hundreds of local and regional competitors. We expect competitors from Asia and the Middle East in particular to continue to grow in significance in the years ahead.

Corporate Legal Structure

As the publicly listed parent company of the BASF Group, BASF SE takes a central position: Directly or indirectly, it holds the shares in the companies belonging to the BASF Group and is also one of the largest operating companies. In the BASF Group Consolidated Financial Statements, 260 companies including BASF SE are fully consolidated. We consolidate nine joint operations on a proportional basis and account for 21 companies using the equity method.

For more information on the companies belonging to the BASF Group, see basf.com/en/corporategovernance

Dr. Vijay Swaminathan (center), Organic Synthetic Lab, BASF India, discusses ongoing research projects with his colleagues Manoojkumar Poonoth (left) and Nitin Gupte (right), both chemists. The researchers are working on agricultural solutions, solutions for the energy and leather industry and specialty chemicals. They also synthesize intermediates for industrial applications.

BASF in Asia Pacific

• Present in 19 markets

• Sales: around €17.5 billion

• 2 Verbund sites, 70 production sites

• 2 major Innovation Campuses

Our Strategy

Chemistry is our passion. We want to be the most attractive partner for our customers to overcome challenges that can be solved with chemistry. Our customers are at the center of everything we do.

BASF Group at a glance