1960

On September 11, Hurricane Carla temporarily shuts down Freeport, Texas, site.

BASF acquires United Cork Companies of South Kearny, New Jersey, which was previously licensing BASF’s polystyrene technique.

BASF acquires Computron Inc., of Waltham, Massachusetts. Computron produces magnetic storage tapes for computers. This acquisition eventually helped establish BASF as a leader in magnetic media, including audio and video cassettes, floppy disks and other computer storage solutions.

With the acquisition and renaming of Aislantes Industriales S.A. and its production site in Santa Clara, Mexico, BASF Mexicana is established.

Dow Badische dedicates a new site in Anderson, South Carolina, producing nylon and polyester fibers.

BASF acquires Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation. At the time, this represented the largest investment a German company had ever made in the U.S. Wyandotte was an attractive acquisition because of its strong position in polyurethane chemistry. With the acquisition, BASF gained major production sites in Wyandotte, Michigan, and Geismar, Louisiana.

Apollo 11 launches from Florida with the help of BASF product Diofan 190D, a fire-resistant coating used on all of the modules’ electrical systems. Diofan 190D was used on other NASA space flights as well. The red stripes on the flag placed on the Moon by the Apollo 11 crew consisted of BASF’s aquaprint Scarlet LF.