BASF unveils new HDPE brand “Easiplas^TM” and its HDPE plant achieves construction milestones at Zhanjiang Verbund site

 

• Introduction of the new HDPE brand Easiplas^TM to emphasize the production of high-quality and reliable plastics
• Heavy equipment, including reactor and product purge bin, successfully installed at the new HDPE plant

Hong Kong SAR, China – November 29, 2024 – BASF has launched Easiplas^TM, a new brand of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), alongside reaching significant construction milestones at the HDPE plant at the Zhanjiang Verbund site. These advancements underscore BASF's dedication to delivering customer-centric and superior offerings, catering to the growing demand for HDPE products in the Chinese market.

The brand name Easiplas^TM, which integrates “Ease of use” with “Ethylene” and “Plastics”, emphasizes BASF’s full backward integration into the C2 value chain at the Zhanjiang Verbund site. This new brand is set to produce high-quality plastics that are not only easy to process and user-friendly but also supported by technical services with a team of experts from the industry. By incorporating the latest technologies and renewable energy sources in production, Easiplas^TM highlights BASF's commitment to sustainability, creating a wider range of solutions with lower carbon footprints for customers.

“The introduction of this new brand is an important milestone for our HDPE business and marks the official launch of our products into the market,” said Xu Yang, HDPE Business Management Director of Petrochemicals Asia Pacific at BASF. “With Easiplas^TM, we are reinforcing our commitment to offering competitive, innovative and sustainable HDPE solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers across consumer goods, packaging, construction, and transportation industries.”

The new HDPE plant at the Zhanjiang Verbund site has recently achieved key construction milestones, including the successful lifting and installation of a reactor and product purge bin. These accomplishments mark substantial progress toward the mechanical completion of the plant.

“The smooth transportation and installation of major equipment is a testament to the exceptional teamwork and dedication of all stakeholders involved. We are on track for timely mechanical completion and are confident in the start-up of our HDPE plant at the end of 2025,” said Hui Feng, Vice President of Basic Petrochemicals Operations for Petrochemicals Asia Pacific at BASF.

The HDPE plant at the Zhanjiang Verbund site, which started construction in 2023 with an annual production capacity of 500,000 metric tons, is planned to come on stream by the end of 2025. Polyethylene, a light and versatile thermoplastic polymer produced from ethylene, is used in a wide range of applications, from heavy-duty storage tanks and pipelines to flexible packaging and films.

Background information on BASF’s new Verbund site in Zhanjiang

The Zhanjiang Verbund site will be BASF’s largest investment to date with around €10 billion upon completion. It will be operated under the sole responsibility of BASF and will be the company’s third-largest Verbund site worldwide, following Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium.

About BASF’s Petrochemicals division

The Petrochemicals division is the starting point for BASF’s petrochemical-based value chains globally. We operate a highly competitive asset base with best-in-class technologies and set the benchmark in safety, sustainability, operational excellence and cost competitiveness. With six Verbund sites and several major production sites, we are close to our customers and present in the largest chemical markets worldwide. The division supplies various value chains across the company and a broad range of customer industries with high-quality chemicals, putting our customers in the center of everything we do and contributing to the organic volume growth of BASF. Our portfolio includes cracker products, industrial gases, acrylics, superabsorbent polymers, styrenic foams, alkylene oxides, glycols, alcohols, solvents and plasticizers. In 2023, the Petrochemicals division generated sales to third parties of about €7.4 billion. Further information is available online at http://petrochemicals.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.