MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has inaugurated its new production plant for concrete admixtures in Nairobi, Kenya, as per the company's press release.
The production site will allow BASF to better meet the increasing demand for construction chemicals of customers in Eastern Africa.
At the site, 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 of Eastern Africa or in more remote sites," said Dick Purchase, head of BASF’s regional construction chemicals business for the Middle East, West Asia, CIS and Africa.
"BASF’s admixtures enable to produce concrete with higher strength, and to increase its workability retention," he added. "This is of special importance in urban areas such as Nairobi, Kenya, or Kampala, Uganda, where transportation of concrete to the construction site may take longer due to high traffic."
Kenya is a particularly strong growing market for construction chemicals in Eastern Africa, according to company officials.
"Growth in emerging markets is an integral component of BASF’s strategy," said Laurent Tainturier, senior vice president of 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 will meet the demands for multi-story buildings, long-lasting infrastructural constructions and more energy efficiency in construction techniques."
The new production site in Nairobi is also a further step to strengthen the global network of the Master Builders Solutions brand, according to BASF officials. The solutions offered by the brand will also strongly benefit contractors from other regions doing construction projects in Eastern Africa, as they may already know the product portfolio and technologies.
BASF notes that it has been actively selling construction chemicals to the Eastern African market for more than 25 years. Other production sites in Africa are located in Westonaria, South Africa; Algiers, Algeria; Sadat City, Egypt and Casablanca, Morocco.
As MRC informed previously, in late 2011, BASF announced that it was increasing its presence in the growing African markets. The company also said that it would open a new office in Nairobi, Kenya, to serve customers in East Africa and Sub-Sahara.
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC