BASF Strengthening Global Network for Pigment Production

BASF is strengthening its global production network for pigments with two new investments. At its site in Nanjing, China, the company has increased its production capacities for high-performance diketopyrrolopyrrole pigments (DPP). In Ludwigshafen, Germany, BASF is going to expand its capacities for the production of alpha blue pigments, which are particularly characterized by their excellent fastness properties, by the fall of 2016.

The color-intensive and extremely lightfast and weatherproof DPP pigments, which are marketed by BASF under the product name Irgazin, are – among other applications – used for automotive, industrial and powder coatings, paints and inks as well as for plastic applications. By expanding its capacities in Nanjing, BASF has responded to the ever-increasing demand for high-performance pigments, particularly in Asia-Pacific.

“DPP pigments are a high-quality alternative to lead-chromate-based pigments that are increasingly being regulated all over the world,” said Jeff Knight, SVP of the business unit Dispersions & Pigments Asia-Pacific.

At its Ludwigshafen site, BASF is going to expand the capacities for the production of alpha blue pigments, which will be available beginning fall 2016. The reddish copper phthalocyanine pigments which – in addition to other blue and green pigments that are based on the same chemistry – are sold by BASF under the Heliogen brand, are characterized by their excellent fastness properties. In addition, alpha blue pigments stand out due to their versatile applicability that includes plastic coloring, printing applications as well as industrial and automotive coatings and paints.

“While this capacity expansion is our response to the growing demand in the market, it also increases our delivery reliability,” says Dr. Alexander Haunschild, SVP of the business unit Pigments & Resins Europe. “Taking into account the latest trends in color, we expect that customer demand for alpha blue pigments is going to continue to increase significantly.”