BASF closes expandable polystyrene production at Ulsan Plastics site in South Korea
Hong Kong SAR, China – June 8, 2026 – BASF has decided to close its expandable polystyrene (EPS) production assets at the Ulsan Plastics site in South Korea. The cessation of production operations is targeted for mid‑June 2026.
This decision is part of BASF’s ongoing strategic review and efforts to optimize its global styrenics production setup and enhance competitiveness in response to evolving market conditions.
“Our priority is sustainable value creation. This decision reflects our commitment to proactively align our production footprint with market realities and reinforce our long-term competitiveness,” said Bir Darbar Mehta, Senior Vice President, Petrochemicals Asia Pacific at BASF. “We will continue to evaluate optimization opportunities and focus on assets that provide the strongest strategic advantage.”
BASF remains committed to supporting its customers during the transition and ensuring reliable and continuous supply. The company has a strong market position in Europe, supported by its fully backward‑integrated production setup, which provides a solid foundation for its global styrenics business. BASF's European styrenics operations are not affected by the closure of the EPS production in South Korea.
About BASF’s Petrochemicals division
The Petrochemicals division is the starting point for BASF’s petrochemical-based value chains globally. We operate a highly competitive asset base with best-in-class technologies and set the benchmark in safety, sustainability, operational excellence and cost competitiveness. With seven Verbund sites and several major production sites, we are close to our customers and present in the largest chemical markets worldwide. The division supplies various value chains across the company and a broad range of customer industries with high-quality chemicals, putting our customers in the center of everything we do and contributing to the organic volume growth of BASF. Our portfolio includes cracker products, industrial gases, acrylics, superabsorbent polymers, styrenic foams, alkylene oxides, glycols, alcohols, solvents and plasticizers. In 2025, the Petrochemicals division generated sales to third parties of about €7.5 billion. Further information is available online at http://petrochemicals.basf.com.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 108,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €60 billion in 2025. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.
