BASF recently inaugurated its new production plant for concrete admixtures in Nairobi. The production site will enable BASF to better meet the increasing demand for construction chemicals of customers in East Africa.
There, BASF produces standard and custom-made performance admixtures from the MasterRheobuild® and the MasterGlenium® product line.“We are now able to rapidly supply our customers with admixtures for all cement and aggregate types, whether their construction projects are located in the urban areas or in more remote sites,” said Dick Purchase, head of BASF’s Regional Business Unit Construction Chemicals Middle East, West Asia, CIS and Africa.
BASF’s admixtures produce concrete with higher strengths and increased workability retention. This is critical in urban areas like Nairobi or Kampala in Uganda, where heavy traffic can delay delivery of concrete to the construction site.
Kenya is a particularly strong growing market for construction chemicals in East Africa. “Growth in emerging markets is an integral component of BASF’s ‘We create chemistry’ strategy,” said Laurent Tainturier, senior vice president Europe East, CIS, Middle East and Africa at BASF. “In line with this, BASF’s Africa strategy aims to double sales on the continent by the year 2020.
The new production facility will strengthen the product portfolio in the region, and meet the demands for multi-storey buildings, durable infrastructure and more energy-efficient construction techniques,” he said. Cement is expensive and scarce in East Africa.
With BASF products, it can be partially replaced in concrete mix designs. Solutions from BASF also aid with compliance to energy efficiency certifications for LEED or GBCSA Green Star-rated buildings.
The new production site in Nairobi is a further step in strengthening the Master Builders Solutions® global network. The solutions offered by this brand will also be of benefit to contractors from other regions working on construction projects in East Africa, as they may be familiar with the product portfolio.
At the opening ceremony, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Amina Mohamed, said: “Not only will BASF now be able to further contribute to building sustainable structures in East Africa, it will also bring employment opportunities and expertise to the region’s construction sector.”
Located in the Mlolongo area of Greater Nairobi, the production plant has good access to the road network and Mombasa Port to receive raw materials, deliver to customers in Nairobi and Kenya and to export to South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania. BASF has been actively selling construction chemicals to the East African market for over 25 years. There are production sites in Africa in South Africa, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco.
About the Construction Chemicals division
BASF’s Construction Chemicals division offers advanced chemicals solutions for new construction, maintenance, repair and renovation of structures: The comprehensive portfolio encompasses concrete admixtures, cement additives, chemical solutions for underground construction, waterproofing systems, sealants, concrete repair and protection systems, performance grouts, performance flooring systems, tile fixing systems, expansion control systems and wood protection solutions. The Construction Chemicals division’s 5,700 employees form a global community of construction experts.
To solve customers’ specific challenges from project conception through to completion, BASF draws on the experience gained in countless construction projects worldwide. BASF’s global technologies are leveraged, as well as the in-depth knowledge of local building needs, to develop innovations that help make our customers more successful and drive sustainable construction. The division operates production sites and sales centres in over 50 countries and achieved sales of about €2.1 billion in 2013.
About BASF in Africa
The BASF Group has been active in Africa for 90 years. The company has been exporting colorants and intermediates to Kenya from its headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany, since the end of the 1920s. Today, the BASF Group has more than 1,000 employees in Africa (excluding the oil and gas business).
In North Africa, the company is represented in Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The key industries are construction, textiles, agriculture, automotive and the health care and plastics sectors. The BASF Group company Wintershall has produced oil onshore in Libya since 1958, and is also involved in an offshore oilfield. In South Africa, BASF has production facilities for emission catalysts, construction chemicals, coil coatings, dispersions and polyurethane plastics.
More information on BASF is available at www.basf.com.
