Deeply rooted in America: How the United States became a core part of BASF’s global DNA

What started with a sales office in New York City in 1873 has grown into a significant, multi-state presence with more than 13,000 employees across the United States. Over the last 150 years, BASF has built its U.S. footprint through strategic partnerships, targeted investments, and a strong production network aligned with regional market needs, making BASF one of the largest chemical companies in the U.S. today.

The story of BASF in the United States started with a sales office in New York City in 1873, only eight years after the company was founded in Germany. BASF recognized the United States as an attractive growth market early on. This was driven by a strong innovation ecosystem, access to raw materials and a distinct “can-do mentality” that encouraged new ideas and rapid industrial progress. This early foundation connected BASF innovations with a fast-modernizing American market, helping shape textile production and manufacturing processes. Another milestone in those early years came in 1893, when BASF exhibited at the World’s Fair in Chicago. BASF showcased the full range of synthetic dyes, demonstrated the coal tar dye process and even displayed an oil painting of the Ludwigshafen headquarters in Germany. It was one of the first times the U.S. public saw the technological depth of BASF’s portfolio, and it strengthened the company’s position in a rapidly growing market.

What mattered most during these formative decades was not scale, but commitment: BASF was determined to be present where its customers were – a principle that still stands true today.

Producing where the customers are: How BASF built its U.S. production network

As U.S. industries and markets matured, expectations changed. Exporting exclusively from Europe could no longer keep up with the need for faster supply and tailored solutions. Producing within the United States became essential to reduce transport costs, to support key industries more directly, and to participate in an innovation landscape that was expanding quickly.

This development closely aligned with BASF’s local for local strategy, which focuses on producing solutions close to customers, scaling capacities based on regional demand, and increasing the efficiency and flexibility of production networks in key markets.

As a result, in 1958, BASF and the Dow Chemical Company jointly founded the Dow Badische Chemical Company in Freeport, Texas. This joint venture was created to establish a production base to supply basic chemicals and fiber preliminary products to the growing U.S. market. Construction began with an investment of $7 million, marking BASF’s first manufacturing site outside Germany since World War II.

Today, BASF has more than 900 employees at the Freeport site, which has grown into one of the company’s most important production facilities. With 27 plants producing a multitude of different products, Freeport is not only a cornerstone of BASF’s U.S. operations but also one of the company’s seven global Verbund sites.

While Freeport represented the company’s earliest manufacturing milestone in the United States, Geismar, Louisiana, gradually developed into the largest site for BASF’s Verbund operations in North America. Geismar’s emergence was closely linked to BASF’s acquisition strategy in the United States. In 1969, BASF acquired Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation, a U.S. company with production facilities in Geismar, Louisiana, and Wyandotte, Michigan. This step provided BASF with existing manufacturing assets and industrial infrastructure that could be expanded over time within an integrated production structure.

In the years that followed, Geismar grew through the systematic expansion of production capacities. The site developed a strong focus on basic chemicals, later complemented by agrochemical products and key chemical intermediates. The construction of a methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) production plant in 1982 marked an important milestone, supplying essential materials for polyurethane applications and strengthening BASF’s manufacturing footprint in the United States.

In parallel to building up its own production capabilities, BASF pursued other targeted acquisitions in the United States. Alongside Wyandotte Chemicals, companies such as Engelhard and Ciba were integrated at different stages during the late 1900s and early 2000s. Through this combined approach, BASF steadily expanded its U.S. production footprint, while broadening its regional product portfolio.

Today BASF has more than 100 locations across dozens of states, making it one of the largest chemical companies in the U.S. supplying customers of almost every industry.

What´s next? A big investment and strong commitment to U.S. manufacturing with the Geismar MDI expansion

Another critical project that highlights the importance of the United States to BASF will come to fruition in the second half of 2026. A multi-step expansion of production capacity for MDI began at the Geismar site in 2018 and represents BASF´s largest fully owned investment in North America to date. With an investment of approximately $1 billion dollars BASF will increase its annual production capacity of MDI to around 600,000 metric tons per year, supplying U.S. customers in important industries such as construction, automotive, and consumer products.

BASF in the United States today: Deeply embedded in local communities and globally connected

For more than 150 years, BASF has continuously expanded its presence in the United States as part of a broader transatlantic strategy building momentum, advancing innovation, and strengthening a local footprint aligned with regional market needs. Today, North America accounts for approximately 26% of BASF’s global sales (2025), underscoring the region’s central role in the company’s global portfolio. In the U.S., BASF employs more than 13,000 people and, as one of the country’s largest chemical companies, supports the economy across nearly every sector.

With the upcoming milestone in Geismar, BASF’s strong manufacturing presence in the United States is ready to enter its next chapter.