Business Segments

Since January 1, 2019, BASF’s twelve divisions are grouped into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. This new segment structure sharpens our portfolio and increases transparency.

Businesses are clustered to improve customer experience and to fully realize Verbund synergies as exemplified by the “connectors” in the graph depicted below:

We develop our production processes using a central R&D platform. As a result, plants in different businesses can benefit from the experiences of others.
Catalysis is a core technology that is fundamental to more than 90% of our production.
We have unique formulation know-how that is used in many businesses and allows us to support customers.
Biosciences and the markets for nutritional products combine elements of the Nutrition & Care segment and the Agricultural Solutions segment.
In many cases, different businesses supply the same customer industry. The most prominent example is the automotive industry.
We are building up a digital Verbund to harvest the advantages the vast amount of data across all segments offers us.

¹ Until signing of a transaction agreement, Construction Chemicals will be reported under Surface Technologies

Key facts

6 segments comprising 12 operating divisions with 86 strategic business units
Our portfolio ranges from basic petrochemicals to agricultural solutions
The divisions and strategic business units are organized according to business models and value chains
In around 75% of our businesses, we are in a top three position

Key figures

Percentage 2018		Sales	EBITDA bsi
Chemicals	Petrochemicals Intermediates	19%	24%
Materials	Performance Materials Monomers	21%	32%
Industrial Solutions	Dispersions & Pigments Performance Chemicals	15%	11%
Surface Technologies	Catalysts Coatings Construction Chemicals¹	22%	13%
Nutrition & Care	Care Chemicals Nutrition & Health	9%	12%
Agricultural Solutions	Agricultural Solutions	10%	12%
Other		4%	(4%)

¹ Until signing of a transaction agreement, Construction Chemicals will be reported under Surface Technologies

New organization of the BASF Group

BASF’s new segment structure will increase transparency regarding the results of our segments as well as highlight the importance of the Verbund and value chains to our business success. BASF aims to clearly position its businesses against their relevant competitors and establish a high-performance organization to be successful in an increasingly competitive market environment.

The Chemicals segment is the cornerstone of our Verbund. It supplies the other segments with basic chemicals and intermediates, contributing to the organic growth of our key value chains. Alongside internal accounts, our customers include the chemical and plastics industries. We aim to increase our competitiveness through technological leadership and operational excellence.

The Materials segment’s portfolio comprises advanced materials and their precursors for new applications and systems. These include isocyanates and polyamides as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for the plastics and plastics processing industries. We will focus primarily on organic growth through differentiation via specific technological expertise, industry know-how and customer proximity to maximize value in the isocyanate and polyamide value chains.

The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications such as polymer dispersions, pigments, resins, electronic materials, antioxidants and admixtures. We aim to drive organic growth in key industries, such as automotive, plastics and electronics, and expand our position in value-enhancing ingredients and solutions by leveraging our comprehensive industry expertise and application know-how.

The Surface Technologies segment comprises our businesses that offer chemical solutions for surfaces. Its portfolio includes coatings, catalysts and battery materials for the automotive and chemical industries. The aim is to drive organic growth by leveraging our portfolio of technologies and know-how, and to establish BASF as a leading and innovative provider of battery materials as well. For our construction chemicals business, we are considering the possibility of a merger with a strong partner, as well as the option of divesting this business. The Construction Chemicals division will be reported under the Surface Technologies segment until the signing of a transaction agreement.

In the Nutrition & Care segment, we strive to expand our position as a leading provider of nutrition and care ingredients for consumer products in the area of nutrition, home and personal care. Customers include food and feed producers as well as the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergent and cleaner industries. We aim to enhance and broaden our product and technology portfolio. Our goal is to drive organic growth by focusing on emerging markets, new business models and sustainability trends in consumer markets, supported by targeted acquisitions.

The Agricultural Solutions segment aims to further strengthen our market position as an integrated provider of crop protection products and seeds. Its portfolio comprises fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and biological crop protection products, as well as seeds and seed treatment products. We also offer farmers digital solutions combined with practical advice. Our main focus is on innovation-driven organic growth, targeted portfolio expansion as well as leveraging synergies from the acquired businesses.

In addition to the new segment structure, the composition of a number of divisions has also changed. The propylene oxide and propylene glycol business was transferred from the Petrochemicals division to the Monomers division. The superabsorbents business is allocated to the Petrochemicals division rather than the Care Chemicals division. The styrene, polystyrene and styrene-based foams business, which previously mainly fell under the Performance Materials division and a small part under Other, is bundled in the Petrochemicals division.