To accommodate its growing operations and number of employees, the world’s leading chemical company, BASF, has recently opened a new regional headquarters for West Africa, situated in Lagos, Nigeria.
BASF began doing business on the African continent about 90 years ago focusing on the key industries of construction, textiles, automotive, agriculture, plastics, and healthcare sectors. The expansion of the existing office and the construction chemical plant in Nigeria will now increase BASF’s footprint on the continent and will nurture partnerships and innovation geared towards sustainable growth.
Speaking at the office opening ceremony, BASF Vice-President and Head of Market Area Africa, Dr Michael Gotsche, said “In line with the company’s growth strategy in Africa to invest in local presence and local production, our expansion in Nigeria will allow us to respond to challenges arising from the competitive conditions in the market, while also extending our reach to more customers.” BASF has, in recent years, opened offices in Nigeria, Zambia, the Ivory Coast and Kenya.
The Special Guest of Honor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, represented by the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, who formally commissioned the new regional headquarters, expressed delight at the growth of BASF West Africa, commended the management of the organisation, and reiterated the commitment to making Lagos State a business-friendly environment. He encouraged other multinational organizations to follow in the steps of BASF by establishing new factories and expanding existing operations within the state.
He said: “It is heartwarming that BASF is making progress in Nigeria and expanding its operations here in Lagos State, the commercial capital of Nigeria. We will continue to make Lagos State an investment haven, and we call on all organizations to make the best use of all we have on offer in as we continue to strive to make doing business a lot easier within the state”.
Managing Director for BASF West Africa, Dr. Jean Marc Ricca, said that he was particularly glad this new regional headquarters was being launched as part of the activities during the week of the Africa Leadership Team meetings taking place in Nigeria. “This clearly demonstrates the confidence that BASF has in Nigeria and speaks to the continuing investments of the company in Nigeria,” he said.
Dr. Ricca also took the opportunity to announce that an application laboratory for personal care is going to be opened at the beginning of 2019 in Lagos, Nigeria. With the establishment of local competence in application and formulation technology, BASF intends to broaden its technical service for Ethnic African hair and skin care applications. Located in one of the fastest growing beauty markets in the region, the laboratory will serve the needs of the personal care industry across all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The personal care laboratory is the first of several laboratories that are in the pipeline from different Business Units. These laboratories are being built to allow our customers to take full advantage of the available expertise and solutions offered across BASF’s broad portfolio that ranges from performance products, plastics, chemicals, cosmetics, oil and gas as well as crop protection products. BASF aims to ensure that new and existing customers get the service and support they need,” said Ricca.
About BASF – Country Cluster West Africa:
BASF West Africa Limited was established in Lagos, Nigeria in July 2012. In 2015, a construction chemicals production facility was opened in Lagos in order to serve the West African market.
Industry portfolios represented in the African region include chemicals, plastics, dispersions, agricultural products, nutrition, oil and gas. BASF products are used for industrial applications in a variety of sectors including paper, packaging, leather, detergents, cosmetics, construction, mining, agriculture and automotive industries.
About BASF in Africa
At BASF – we create chemistry and have been doing so in Africa for over 90 years. Africa is divided into four country clusters, with headquarters in Midrand, South Africa for Southern Africa; Nairobi, Kenya for East Africa; Lagos, Nigeria for West Africa and Morocco for North-West Africa. BASF employs around 1600 people in Africa. Since 2016 the BASF African headquarters is based in Nairobi, Kenya. Further information is available at www.basf.co.za
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About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The more than 115,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of €64.5 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com
