BASF announces beefed up domestic presence

Shin Woo-sung

BASF Korea said its German headquarters has decided to establish a new Asia-Pacific region research and development center in Korea, CEO Shin Woo-sung said yesterday.

The leading German chemical company announced in March that it would make Korea its Asia-Pacific headquarters for electronics materials.

The regional headquarters is expected to be established within June and the R&D center by next year, said BASF Korea said.

“The R&D center will be BASF’s first electronic materials R&D center in Korea and will serve the Asian region,” Shin said. “This is an important milestone for BASF Korea, and we look forward to developing successful collaboration with our customers across the region.”

When asked the main reason for locating the Asia-Pacific R&D center for electronics materials here rather than in China, Taiwan or Japan, Shin cited the strong global presence of Korean electronics companies.

“Chemistry-based innovation will be an important enabler for the fast-paced electronic industry with its short technology life cycles, where time to market counts,” said Lothar Laupichler, senior vice president at BASF Electronic Materials. “With our strong R&D expertise and regional headquarters of electronic materials business in close proximity to customers in Asia, we will be able to contribute faster and more effectively to meet our customers’ needs with comprehensive solutions.”

BASF, a leading supplier of electronic materials, specializes in semiconductors, flat panel displays, and lighting, including LED and photovoltaics. Its major Korean clients are Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.

The company runs production facilities for electronic materials in Taiwan, China, Singapore, Japan and Germany. The global R&D center is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

BASF Korea, which was established in 1998, reported 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in revenue in 2012.

By Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]