BASF Prepares Mexican Plant for Closure of Domestic Polystyrene Capacity

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). BASF Corporation (Mount Olive, New Jersey), a subsidiary of BASF AG (FRANKFURT: DE:515100), announced earlier this year that it would close its South Brunswick, New Jersey, production plant and move the capacity to a plant south of the border, as part of a plan to restructure much of its North American operations. The South Brunswick site has been in operation since the mid-50's, and the expanded polystyrene once produced there will be moving to a much newer site in Altamira, Mexico, by early next year.

The South Brunswick plant is scheduled to close upon completion of the estimated $20 million major expansion and debottleneck of the Altamira plant in the first quarter of 2005, although it could close this Fall, ahead of schedule. Udhe Jacobs Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Mexico), acting as the E+P+C/M contractor, began construction in Altamira early this year and appears to be on schedule for a first quarter completion.

BASF has made the Altamira site a focus for several large capital projects in recent years, completing an estimated $50 million Styrolux unit addition in November of last year. See related September 22, 2002 new article titled - BASF Is Constructing a New Styrolux Manufacturing Plant in Altamira, Mexico.

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