Press Release

BASF opens new headquarters building in Florham Park, New Jersey

Published 12 years ago | About a 4 minute read

BASF opens new headquarters building in Florham Park, New Jersey • Company showcases its commitment to a sustainable future • Outlines plans for growth in North America • Construction of a new formic acid plant in Geismar, Louisiana Florham Park, New Jersey – May 4, 2012 – BASF Corporation, New Jersey state officials, including Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, and community representatives today celebrated the official opening of BASF’s new North American headquarters building at 100 Park Avenue in Florham Park, New Jersey. The 325,000 square foot building, developed in partnership with the Rockefeller Group Development Corporation, is designed to achieve LEED® double Platinum* certification. It features many BASF enabled construction solutions and is one of New Jersey’s largest sustainable buildings. “Our new headquarters stands as a tangible example of how BASF creates chemistry for a sustainable future,” said Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel, Chairman and CEO of BASF Corporation. “By incorporating the latest technologies and materials with smart design and sophisticated ergonomics, we will be protective of the environment while providing 1,400 employees with a healthy and safe work atmosphere where they can even better cooperate and collaborate.” Strategic investments support regional growth The day’s activities included a press conference at the new regional headquarters building to outline the company’s plans for accelerated business growth in North America. Engel and Frank Bozich, Executive Vice President and President of the global Catalysts division, said BASF had a solid start to the year and plans to grow sales in North America by about five percent per year through 2020, driven by strategic capital investments, sustainability-enabling innovations, and optimization of the company’s portfolio through acquisitions. The target is consistent with the company’s plan to outpace both worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) and chemical industry production rates in North America. In the medium term, growth is expected to be 2 percentage points above chemical production. During the press conference, BASF announced that it will be adding a formic acid plant at its Geismar, Louisiana, production facility. It will be the only formic acid plant in North America and will allow BASF to serve strategic markets in North and South America better, including applications for pharmaceuticals, energy, animal nutrition, leather and cleaning products. “At Geismar, and at our site in Freeport, Texas, plants are strategically co-located. Chemicals and heat produced during chemical reactions are captured and repurposed as feedstocks and energy in other parts of the site. This concept, which we call “Verbund,” is a BASF core competency – one we put to work at six sites throughout the world,” said Engel. Note to Editors: Speaker remarks, photos and videos of the ribbon-cutting ceremony and the U.S. press conference can be found from 8 p.m. CET under: http://on.basf.com/JASzI0 About BASF BASF Corporation has been headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey since 2004 and is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 16,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $20 billion in 2011. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.us. BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation we enable our customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring healthy food and nutrition and helping to improve the quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about €73.5 billion in 2011 and had more than 111,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com. *LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a trademark of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Platinum certification is the highest achievement attainable through the LEED green building certification program which encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through a suite of rating systems that recognize projects that implement strategies for better environmental and health performance. BASF is seeking Platinum certification in two phases: one for Core & Shell and another for Commercial Interiors. May 4, 2012 John C. Schmidt BASF Corporation Tel: +01 973 245-6405 [email protected] Jennifer Moore-Braun BASF SE Corporate Media Relations Tel: +49 621 60-99123 [email protected] BASF SE 67056 Ludwigshafen Phone: +49 621 60-0 http://www.basf.com Corporate Media Relations Phone: +49 621 60-20916 Fax: +49 621 60-92693 [email protected]