7 July 2016
DETAILS
Today BASF
and Xinjiang Markor Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
(“Markor”)
inaugurated a new polytetrahydrofuran,
chemical name: polytetramethylene ether glycol
plant in Korla, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region
in northwest China.
Commercial products are now available
for delivery to local customers in China.
The plant, with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons
of Polytetrahydrofuran, is operated by a
joint venture between BASF and Markor
BASF Markor Chemical Manufacturing (Xinjiang) Co., Ltd.
It will support customers’ increasing demand.
The plant complements BASF’s existing
Asian production facilities in
* Shanghai, China and
* Ulsan, Korea.
BASF also produces Polytetrahydrofuran in
* Geismar, Louisiana, and
* Ludwigshafen, Germany,
with a global annual Polytetrahydrofuran capacity
of 350,000 metric tons.
Polytetrahydrofuran is primarily used to make
elastic spandex fibers for a wide variety of textiles,
including swimsuits, sportswear, underwear
and outerwear.
It also serves as a chemical building block
for thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU),
used to make hoses, films and cable sheathing
mainly for the automotive industry.
Other applications include
thermoplastic polyetheresters, polyetheramides
and cast elastomers for the production
of (for example) wheels for skateboards
and inline skates.
In January 2016 BASF and Markor inaugurated
a 1,4-butanediol (BDO) plant, also
at the Korla site.
The plant, with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons,
is operated by another joint venture between
Markor and BASF, registered under the name of
Markor Meiou Chemical (Xinjiang) Co., Ltd.
The two projects mark BASF's first investment
in Xinjiang with a local private enterprise.
Contact BASF
Martin Liedemit
Deputy Head of Investor Relations
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI