Additionally, Jim Blair, BASF Director of Logistics for Coatings, will participate in a panel discussion about "electronic vendor-managed inventory," a system under which a supplier monitors a customer's stock and automatically replenishes the defined products.

The annual conference, which will take place Oct. 1 - 3 in Orlando, Fla., is sponsored by the Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry (API) and is the industry's premier professional and educational event in North America. The conference is expected to draw more than 1,000 suppliers and their current or potential customers.

"This conference has traditionally been a valuable source of timely and relevant information," said Larry Berkowski, Director, BASF Polyurethane Basic Materials and this year's conference chairman. "This year attendees will again be able to learn more about the top issues facing them and the industry. The conference will also offer attendees a rare opportunity for interaction with their peers, and with important industry players, to explore solutions to their product and process problems."

Thomas Landa, Director of Polyurethanes & Performance Chemicals for Polioles, pointed out that this year BASF has joined with several other major chemical companies to help make the conference as productive and informative as possible. "All the attendees, not just our customers, can benefit from our expertise in such crucial areas as product innovation, environmental and workplace safety, and inventory management," Landa said. "In this way we are able to help the API fulfill its mission of educating the industry's professionals and helping them address their most pressing challenges."

Polioles, a maker of urethane system chemicals, is a joint venture of BASF AG and the Alfa Group. In 2002, Polioles had sales of $250 million. The company is based in Mexico and employs approximately 525 people.

BASF: Helping Make Products Better™
BASF is the world's leading chemical company, offering its customers a range of high-performance products, including chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as crude oil and natural gas. Its distinctive approach to integration, known in German as "Verbund," is its strength. It enables BASF to achieve cost leadership and gives the company a competitive advantage. BASF conducts its business in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. In 2002, BASF had sales of $34 billion and more than 89,000 employees worldwide. BASF Corporation is the North American affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. In North America, 2002 sales were approximately $8.2 billion and the company employs approximately 12,000 people. For more information or to receive news releases by e-mail, visit www.basf.com/usa.

For more information, contact:
Andy Ladak
BASF Corporation
Tel: (248) 948-2088
E-mail: ladaka@basf.com