Basf to invest €21 million in one of its chemical plants in Tarragona, creating 30 additional jobs

Barcelona (ACN).- The German multinational company Basf announced on Tuesday it will invest €21 million to expand one of the plants it has in the area of Tarragona, in Southern Catalonia. Basf operates several plants in the Tarragona area, which is Spain's main centre for the petro-chemical industry and one of the most important ones at European level. The investment announced this Tuesday is the largest made by the Spanish division of the German multinational in a single plant in many years, confirmed the company. The centre producing the innovative liquid fungicides for sustainable agriculture will extend its facilities and increase production capacity of these fungicides for high performance crops. Once the work is completed, the company will add 30 workers to its staff. Basf expects the expansion work to end and the new production line to be fully operational by the end of next year.

Erwin Rauhe, CEO of Basf's Spanish division and the company's main manager for Southern Europe, made the announcement on Tuesday, coinciding with the firm's presentation of its results for the first quarter of the year in Spain. Rauhe emphasised the importance of the investment, which is the largest made by the company in a single plant in Spain for many years. He also highlighted that the compound that Basf has in Tarragona, with several plants, is the largest production centre that the German multinational has in Southern Europe.

After the expansion of the facilities and the hiring of new staff, the centre's production should increase by 25%, he said. Basf is growing its production of liquid fungicides for sustainable agriculture because the demand for such products has dramatically increased over the past few years, explained Rauhe.

12% turnover increase in March 2015

The turnover of Basf's Spanish Division reached €1.19 billion during the first quarter of 2015, a 12% increase compared to the figures from the same period in 2014 (when Basf Española's sales reached €1.07 billion). In the same period, the chemical sector overall increased its results by an average of 3.2%, which makes the German multinational's results in Spain more impressive, stressed Rauhe.

The product divisions that have contributed the most to the business increase were 'Functional Materials & Solutions', followed by 'Performance Products' and 'Agricultural Solutions', explained the company. The business of the 'Coatings' division, which is mostly devoted to producing paints and coatings for the automobile industry, has been one of the main products that have contributed to the overall positive results, thanks to the recovery of car sales in Spain and the high volume of exports of this industry.