BASF moves toward improving efficiency, competitiveness of Geismar site
Steps will help retain high quality jobs in the future

GEISMAR, La., October 4, 2004 -- BASF is moving forward with its program to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of its manufacturing site here.

The restructuring program, which was announced in May, is driven by efforts to identify specific process, productivity and technology enhancements in order to achieve new operating efficiencies.

The Geismar site, which at the beginning of the year had approximately 1,400 employees and contractors, will target reductions in the range of 400 to 500 positions. This week, the site will reduce employment by 45 positions. This brings employment reduction to approximately 200 positions since the initiative was announced five months ago. Further reductions will continue in stages through 2005.

“We’re changing and reshaping our approach to many of the manufacturing operations at the site,” said Mike Cohen, Vice President and General Manager of BASF’s Geismar site. “What is not changing, however, is our commitment to maintaining our high level of performance in the areas of safety, environment and health.

“To be a world-class competitor, we must be a low-cost manufacturer,” continued Cohen. “We must continually keep pace with an ever-changing, ever-challenging global chemicals marketplace.”

Cohen added that the petrochemicals industry is challenged by factors such as overcapacity, high energy costs, high raw material costs, and the movement of customers and their related production to other countries.

Cohen said that the reduction in staff, while regrettable, is necessary to help retain high quality jobs at the site in the future. He added that improvements in efficiency will mean that the site can compete successfully over the long-term.

The restructuring at BASF in Geismar, in combination with similar initiatives at the company’s Freeport, Texas, site, target savings in the range of $30 million to $40 million annually. The programs are a part of the company’s larger, ongoing restructuring program, which was first announced in August 2003 and which targets savings of at least $250 million annually by 2006.

BASF – The Chemical Company. We don’t make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.®
BASF Corporation, headquartered in New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. We employ about 11,000 people in North America and had sales of approximately $9 billion in 2003. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit www.basf.com/usa.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Our goal is to grow profitably and further increase the value of our company. We help our customers to be more successful through intelligent system solutions and high-quality products. BASF’s portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. Through new technologies we can tap into additional market opportunities. We conduct our business in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. In 2003, BASF had sales of approximately $42 billion and over 87,000 employees worldwide. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

For more information, contact:
Jack Maurer
BASF
Tel: (973) 245-6072
Cell: (973) 652-3484
E-mail: maurerj1@basf.com