Chemical manufacturing giant BASF is opening its first precious metal-based fine chemical catalysts line in the Asia Pacific, adding the operation to its plant in Mangalore, India.
The company said the line expansion is to serve the growing Indian API market. “By introducing a new production line for precious metal-based fine chemical catalysts in India, we will expand our offerings to meet the needs of local pharmaceutical producers,” Prasad Chandran, chairman of BASF Companies in India & head South Asia, said in a release.
BASF already has significant manufacturing operations in the country. Its India division last year did $1.5 billion in sales. It said the Mangalore site, which opened in 1996, is BASF’s largest manufacturing facility in India and South Asia.
“This expansion will allow us to cost-effectively increase our manufacturing footprint and production capacity, leveraging an existing BASF facility to enhance our proximity to customers in the Asia Pacific region,” said Dr. Hans-Peter Neumann, senior vice president of process catalysts and technologies at BASF’s Catalysts division.