BASF invests 21millions euros in expanding its fungicide plant in Tarragona

The inauguration, on 23th November, of a new production line at the BASF fungicide formulation plant in Tarragona has involved an investment of 21 million euros and the creation of 30 new jobs. The new line will increase production up to 25% over its current performance.

With this project, a fifth line has been connected to existing ones in order to expand the range of products that can be offered to customers.

With its fifth production line, the Tarragona center becomes the third BASF Formulation plant in the world, after Brazil and North America, and the first in Europe

According to Carles Navarro, CEO of BASF in Spain, “this investment, the most important of the last decade of BASF in Spain, shows that Tarragona, our biggest production center in southern Europe, is a very attractive location. We are satisfied with the idea of contributing to the creation of stable employment with our investment. The fact that the latest generation of crop protection products is manufactured in Tarragona is a milestone for our plant. ”

For Anne Berg, director of BASF’s production centers in Spain: “In Tarragona we have a highly qualified team that will operate the new line. The enlargement allows us to have more volume of production to satisfy better the demand in a very fluctuating market as the one of the fungicides”.

The fungicides produced in the Tarragona Formulation plant – more than 60 different ones based on modern and highly efficient active ingredients– guarantee farmers maximum flexibility and reliability in disease control and, therefore, favor a sustainable agriculture with crops high perfomance.

The expansion of the formulation plant has been a major challenge at the local level also at the engineering level, since it has been carried out in record time, keeping it operational and without affecting or altering its production rate.

The fifth line is also a clear commitment to sustainability, reflected in aspects such as the new external elevator that improves processes and times, flexibility in connection with other lines or the creation of new jobs

The formulations produced in Tarragona are fungicides. Most of the more than 60 different formulations manufactured in this plant are packaged, labeled and exported to different markets in the world. They are used mainly for the protection of crops like cereals and fruit and vegetables.

Source: BASF