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No less and so much more: BASF celebrates 40th birthday of Basotect®, the world’s first melamine resin foam
- Since 1984, Basotect® has constantly advanced foam applications in many industries with a broad global portfolio, high quality and reliable supply
- Unique properties like extraordinary sound absorption, thermal insulation and abrasiveness push sustainability ensuring energy efficiency, a low carbon footprint and well-being
BASF celebrates the 40th birthday of Basotect®, the world’s first melamine resin foam. It was introduced into the market in 1984 as a flame-retardant alternative to conventional foams used for sound proofing and thermal insulation in construction. Since then, customers have come to appreciate Basotect® for its high performance and versatility: It is available in eight grades for different applications, amongst them the famous cleaning sponge, which simply rubs off the dirt without the help of cleaning agents. The thermoset foam is a symbol of BASF’s innovative power in the foams business unlocking its potential for industries as diverse as construction, automotive, public transport, cleaning, aerospace and renewable energies with a focus on safety and energy efficiency. BASF has continued to invest into Basotect® and its customers’ needs for a specialty foam: This resulted in its being the world’s leading melamine foam based on its constantly high material quality and reliable supply from the two production plants in Germany.
Whatever the target application, all customer industries benefit from using the all-rounder Basotect®. It is a flexible, open-cell foam made from melamine resin, which leads to a unique property profile: it is sound absorbing, temperature resistant and inherently flame retardant (B1 acc. to DIN 4102-1), as well as lightweight, flexible, thermally insulating and abrasive. This makes the BASF foam ideal for sound absorption in buildings and thermal insulation e.g., of photovoltaic systems, heating ventilation and air-conditioning as well as of cars, aircraft, trains and in the space launcher Ariane 5. Along with the material, BASF offers customers additional benefits including excellent technical support and an extensive application know-how by BASF experts around the globe.
40 years of supporting customers’ sustainable innovations
“Being a market pioneer, we are committed to constantly optimize Basotect® and our services to meet our customers’ needs for first-class material, innovation and sustainability”, says Tarek Abuzarour, head of the global Basotect® business at BASF. “Backed by a portfolio which is unsurpassed in quality and breadth we are looking forward to continuing to shape the foam industry: as a trusted partner pushing sustainability and ensuring energy-efficiency, a low carbon footprint and well-being. For example, we now also offer a cold-flexible Basotect® grade for the durable insulation of cryogenic applications like pipes in LNG terminals.”
Complementing its excellent material performance, Basotect® can be manufactured by different methods, from coating and bonding via impregnating to thermoforming. It can also be processed into a wide variety of shapes and colors with a smooth surface, offering a high degree of design freedom for designers and architects while retaining its outstanding sound absorbing and flame retardant properties.
More information: www.basotect.basf.com
About BASF’s Performance Materials division
BASF’s Performance Materials division is at the forefront of the much-needed sustainability transformation in plastics. Our products are co-created with customers around the globe to bring innovations to major industry sectors such as transportation, consumer goods, industrial applications, and construction. Our R&D focuses on all stages of the plastics journey: Make, Use and Recycle. The MAKE phase is about improving how plastics are made, from product design to the choice of raw materials and the manufacturing process itself. The USE phase enhances plastics’ strengths such as light weight, robustness, and thermal resistance. At the end of the product lifecycle, the RECYCLE phase looks at how to close the loop to achieve a circular economy. In 2023, the Performance Materials division achieved global sales of €7.2 billion. Join #ourplasticsjourney at: https://www.performance-materials.basf.com
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €68.9 billion in 2023. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.
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