Introduction of the new HDPE brand EasiplasTM to emphasize the production of high-quality and reliable plastics

Heavy equipment, including reactor and product purge bin, successfully installed at the new HDPE plant

Hong Kong SAR, China ¨C November 29, 2024 ¨C BASF has launched EasiplasTM, a new brand of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), alongside reaching significant construction milestones at the HDPE plant at the Zhanjiang Verbund site. These advancements underscore BASF's dedication to delivering customer-centric and superior offerings, catering to the growing demand for HDPE products in the Chinese market.

The reactor and product purge bin have been successfully lifted and installed in the new HDPE plant at the Zhanjiang Verbund site.

The brand name EasiplasTM, which integrates ¡°Ease of use¡± with ¡°Ethylene¡± and ¡°Plastics¡±, emphasizes BASF¡¯s full backward integration into the C2 value chain at the Zhanjiang Verbund site. This new brand is set to produce high-quality plastics that are not only easy to process and user-friendly but also supported by technical services with a team of experts from the industry. By incorporating the latest technologies and renewable energy sources in production, EasiplasTM highlights BASF's commitment to sustainability, creating a wider range of solutions with lower carbon footprints for customers.

¡°The introduction of this new brand is an important milestone for our HDPE business and marks the official launch of our products into the market,¡± said Xu Yang, HDPE Business Management Director of Petrochemicals Asia Pacific at BASF. ¡°With EasiplasTM, we are reinforcing our commitment to offering competitive, innovative and sustainable HDPE solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers across consumer goods, packaging, construction, and transportation industries.¡±

The new HDPE plant at the Zhanjiang Verbund site has recently achieved key construction milestones, including the successful lifting and installation of a reactor and product purge bin. These accomplishments mark substantial progress toward the mechanical completion of the plant.

¡°The smooth transportation and installation of major equipment is a testament to the exceptional teamwork and dedication of all stakeholders involved. We are on track for timely mechanical completion and are confident in the start-up of our HDPE plant at the end of 2025,¡± said Hui Feng, Vice President of Basic Petrochemicals Operations for Petrochemicals Asia Pacific at BASF.

The HDPE plant at the Zhanjiang Verbund site, which started construction in 2023 with an annual production capacity of 500,000 metric tons, is planned to come on stream by the end of 2025. Polyethylene, a light and versatile thermoplastic polymer produced from ethylene, is used in a wide range of applications, from heavy-duty storage tanks and pipelines to flexible packaging and films.