On all Continents – From Ludwigshafen to the Whole World

From the early beginnings, a considerable part of BASF's sales is generated abroad while Ludwigshafen continues to be the heart of BASF. Developing international markets starts in Europe, but early on BASF also supples customers in the Americas and Asia . Africa is considered a future market of the 21^st century.

BASF recognizes the importance of foreign markets early on and already begins setting up its own sales organization a few years after it is founded. Production facilities are also built abroad in the 19^th century, but only occasionally and very hesitantly.

It’s a completely different story after 1945: After rebuilding the sales organization becomes the main focus during the postwar years and only a few production sites emerge abroad, BASF begins purposefully penetrating key markets with its own production sites in the 1960s. Initially, BASF focuses on Europe, and North and South America, but the focus shifts to Asia during the mid-1990s. BASF often relies on local partners to build sites abroad, especially in Asia.

BASF takes another step towards promoting an international presence with application technology and research and development. Initially, these facilities are also concentrated in Germany and are then built abroad. The first step is taken in the 1960s with agricultural research stations on four continents.

Measured by employment numbers, Germany, and the Ludwigshafen site in particular, continues to be the clear focus of BASF. Around 30% of all BASF employees worldwide work at this location alone. In contrast, BASF currently operates six Verbund sites as well as 352 additional production sites in more than 80 countries.