BASF, a leading world supplier of personal care ingredients, including UV filters, plans to set up a new line at its Kaohsiung plant to double its global production capacity.
The German chemical company currently produces UV filters called Uvinul A Plus only at its site in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
“We expect demand for high-performance and safe UV filters to continue growing worldwide due to consumer awareness about the importance of UV protection for skin health,” care chemicals president Ralph Schweens said, adding that BASF aims to take advantage of that growth.
The announcement comes one week after BASF launched a footwear innovation center in Changhua County, in addition to three other global footwear development centers in Italy, the US and Thailand, as Taiwan gains importance as a regional manufacturing hub.
Rajan Venkatesh, senior vice president of care chemicals in the Asia-Pacific, said the new production line reflects growing demand for advanced UV filters and underlines BASF’s commitment to the region.
“The capacity expansion, coupled with our existing facility in Ludwigshafen, will increase supply security for our customers,” Venkatesh said.
Expanded capacities would be available from the middle of 2022, the company said.
Uvinul A Plus is one of the few photostable UVA filters available on the market that reliably filters the sun’s dangerous UVA rays and provides outstanding protection from free radicals and skin damage, BASF said.
The oil-soluble granule offers excellent formulation flexibility, is free of preservatives and highly efficient at a low concentration, making it ideal for long-lasting sun care and skin care products with anti-aging efficacy, it said.
As the first company to commercialize UV filters globally, BASF not only possesses expertise in production, but also offers solutions such as sunscreen formulations to enhance everyday skin care regimens, care chemicals vice president Srikanth Vaduvur said.
The Uvinul A Plus investment would augment the company’s UV filters portfolio in the region, Vaduvur said, adding that the Kaohsiung site has maintained high standards in producing other products.
The BASF care chemicals division offers a broad range of ingredients for personal care, home care, industrial and institutional cleaning, and technical applications.
The division’s product portfolio includes surfactants, emulsifiers, polymers, emollients, chelating agents, cosmetic active ingredients and UV filters.
The footwear innovation center focuses on high-performance materials and the latest footwear automation technologies to foster codevelopment of innovative solutions for the footwear industry, communications officials said.
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