BASF to expand Pressure Sensitive Adhesives capability at Monaca, Pa., facility
Company also to launch three new products at Label Expo

CHARLOTTE, N.C., August 29, 2006 – BASF announced today that it is investing $4.9 million in its acrylic emulsion manufacturing facility in Monaca, Pennsylvania, to increase its capability to produce coater-ready adhesives. The company also revealed that it would launch, at Labelexpo 2006, three new pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) polymers to provide greater choice to label, graphics and tape manufacturers.

“This capital project planned for completion in second quarter 2007, enables us to provide more products to the pressure sensitive adhesives industry,” said Jim Tanger, Business Manager, Adhesives and Fiber Bonding for BASF in North America. “It allows us to offer more base products for adhesives and demonstrates in a tangible way our strong commitment to this market.”

For clear-on-clear filmic label producers, Acronal® NX 2270 X provides excellent clarity and film adhesion, good low energy surface adhesion and open time, moisture resistance, moderate shear and coater-ready availability.

Acronal® NX 2278 X for removable PSA film labels, tapes and graphics provides minimal adhesion build on a wide variety of substrates, clean removability and non-ghosting, excellent plasticizer resistance, good anchorage to a variety of film types (corona treating encouraged), high shear and UV stability. It is also cross-linkable for ultra-removable performance and is available as coater ready adhesive.

For graphics applications, Acronal® A 240 offers excellent compatibility with PVC base stock, UV stability, repositionability, clarity, permanent and removable technologies, chemical, water and shrinkage resistance and coater-ready availability.

To learn more about the new coater-ready capability project at Monaca, or about BASF’s new PSA products, please visit booth 3516 at Labelexpo Americas 2006 at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, on September 11-14, 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. BASF employs about 16,000 people in North America and had sales of approximately $11.3 billion in 2005. 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: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. As a reliable partner to virtually all industries, BASF’s intelligent system solutions and high-value products help its customers to be more successful. BASF develops new technologies and uses them to open up additional market opportunities. It combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility, thus contributing to a better future. BASF has approximately 94,000 employees and posted sales of more than €42.7 billion (approximately $50.4 billion) in 2005. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

For more information, contact:
Bill Pagano
BASF
Tel: (973) 245-6071
E-mail: william.pagano@basf.com