BASF announces investments and new products

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – BASF today announced new investments and solutions that will help growers and partners in North America drive yields and efficiency. The investments coincide with the planned launch of more than 20 different innovations for the agricultural industry from BASF’s R&D pipeline in North America, including Sultan, a new miticide for ornamental crops.

BASF also highlighted its advanced dicamba formulation, Engenia herbicide. Starting in 2015, Engenia will help growers to control resistant weeds in key row crops and also serve as a key component of dicamba/glyphosate-tolerant cropping systems.

Additional innovations include the miticides Nealta for specialty crops and Sultan for turf and ornamentals, which provide effective residual control of mites at all life stages. Sultan's active ingredient is cyflumetofen.

BASF will invest more than €200 million ($270 million) to expand production capacity for key herbicides dicamba and DMTA at the Beaumont, Texas site as well as upgrade production at the Hannibal, Missouri site. With capacities expected to be on line in 2016 and 2017, the expansions will serve to meet the growing demand for BASF’s herbicide portfolio, which features nine different modes of action and multi-year rotational plans in order to ensure effective, flexible and durable weed control. BASF is evaluating additional investments as part of its plan to spend approximately €1.8 billion between 2014 and 2018 to increase production of its crop protection products worldwide.