LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany (Dec. 21)—BASF A.G. is investing $30 million in a plant to make polyisocyanate prepolymers for the coatings industry at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Caojing near Shanghai, China.
The company said the facility will go on line in 2006 and be able to make 8,000 metric tons of the material annually. Polyisocyanate prepolymers are used to make automotive, industrial and wood paints.
BASF said the plant will supply the entire Asian market.
The company supplies prepolymers based on toluene diisocyanate and a polyol for two-pack polyurethane paints for which light fastness and flexibility are not a priority; and biuret, isocyanurate and allophanate forms of hexamethylene diisocyanate for topcoats and as primers on substrates.