BASF Coatings started the expansion of production and lab capacities at its Würzburg site. The investment amounts to approximately  €21 million. With the investment, BASF Coatings is strengthening its business with this environmentally friendly technology for the long term and is acknowledging the important contribution of the Würzburg site as the “cradle of the waterborne basecoat.”

The ground-breaking ceremony marks the launch of the construction phase. Production capacities will be expanded, and state-of-the-art dispersion and dispensing techniques will be implemented. Basecoat development will be concentrated in a newly built lab building. Additional application facilities are being set up to cover lab and production needs. Overall, the capacity at the Würzburg site will be expanded by approximately 30%. The first facilities are scheduled to start up in the second half of the coming year. The production launch of the entire project is then planned for the first quarter of 2009. Approximately 20 new jobs will be created as a result of the expansion efforts.

In addition, BASF Coatings is investing approximately €8 million at the Münster site. Construction work has begun on a new polyurethane reactor at the Münster-Hiltrup site for the production of resins needed for the production of waterborne basecoats.