China (Mainland)
2011 - 2015
Jürgen Hambrecht, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, and his successor Kurt Bock held up a light blue soccer jersey bearing a large “1” to the many photographers who had come to BASF’s Annual General Meeting on May 6, 2011. The symbolism was clear: The former number one was passing on the leadership role to the new number one.
With the new strategy titled “We Create Chemistry,” the BASF communicated not only that it made chemical products – but also the desire to ensure the right chemistry between the company and its environment. One key insight predominated: The guiding theme of the coming years would be sustainability – a massive challenge, which required the effectiveness of a chemical industry that combined sustainability with innovation.
The next step of the strategic development followed in September 2012. Here too the name said it all: “Grow smartly – We create chemistry in Asia Pacific.” BASF wanted to use changed or entirely new trends cleverly and intelligently – or smartly – to achieve its ambitious goals in the Asia Paciifc region: The company intends to achieve around 2 billion euros of its planned total sales in Asia Pacific by 2020 through activities in new fields as well as acquisitions. 75 percent of this total revenue will then come from production in the Asia Paciifc region. At the same time, BASF is greatly expanding its capacities for research and development (R&D) in Asia Paciifc.
The cornerstone of BASF’s growing scientific network in Asia is the Innovation Campus in Shanghai, which the company opened in early November 2012. In the Pudong district, 55 million euros were invested in the research institutions on the site of the China headquarters. The next step on the way to securing the future is almost finished: At the end of 2015, in the immediate vicinity of the existing research complex, the Innovation Campus II will be opened, offering space to an additional 400 R&D employees and 200 staff members from the business units. BASF will then be even better equipped to launch innovations from Asia for the entire world quickly and efficiently.