“The chemicals begins to perceive like what is, a big facilitador of solutions to the problems of the humanity”

Think that has been largely thanks to the good management that has done of the portafolio of activities of BASF. There has been a permanent surveillance of those businesses that belonged to the basic competitions of the multinational that are the basic chemicals, the industrial chemicals and has gone desinvirtiendo in those areas where BASF did not have important fortresses that can develop. This has gone doing of a continuous way, some times with surprises for the own collaborators of BASF, as when for example we separate us of the business of magnetic stravel, that was a traditional division of the signature that had arrived to a point of very low profitability or also when us desvinculamos of the area of pharmacy that seemed one of the segments with more future but that now, seen in perspective, went a very hit decision. Always we have bet for going on doing very what know to do and no aventurarnos in fields in which really are not capacitados to be of the first in the world.

No. I think that are beginning it to win. It is true that during a lot of years the chemicals has associated to the pollution, to gases, to smokes, to bad smells… something that could be true in past periods, but the truth is that it begins to be perceived like what think that it is, a big facilitador of solutions to the problems of the humanity and of the earth.

True is that it exists a series of risks in the chemical plants. Some products that can result toxic or dangerous, but the level of care and of gestión of risks that employs at present in the chemical industry is so high that these remain very minimised in front of the advantages that contributes the chemicals like science, that can give solution to problems as for example, the promotion of foods, the suitable gestión of the resources or the energetic efficiency. Here the chemicals exerts a fundamental paper that are understanding little by little. Cost a lot of effort because there is a weight of negative image that it is necessary to combat, but are winning this battle.

Have six segments in BASF and the one who generates more business in these moments is the one of Performace Chemicals, division that engloba the products for the care of the home and personal, for the gestión of the recycled of waters and for the lubricantes and fuels, that is to say, are chemical products of high value added that in this moment are those that are bearing part of the turnover, thank you especially to the acquisitions that realise in 2010 of Ciba and in 2011 of Cognis. The businesses of these companies have integrated cheese cheese in this segment and therefore this has grown sobreproporcionadamente regarding the others.

Think that in Germany there is one some prudence because we come of a year 2011 very successful, with record results. However, this year it has begun different. The past year had a principle of year very strong of activity, of big demand by part of the main markets and regions, whereas the second half was quite more toneless. This year we continue with this tonic a bit feebler with the hope that the world-wide economy recover during the second semester.

The advantage of BASF roots in that we are presents practically in all the important sectors of the world and when a market flojea a bit as it can occur in the south of Europe, have the advantage to compensate to global level with good results in other geographic areas as they can be Sudamérica or Asia. That is to say, that in group, BASF is optimistic regarding this year. I do not know if we will surpass the results of the past year, that would be our aim, but the level of results that are obtaining approaches enough to the of the previous year that was very good.

This is a very important chapter of the activity of BASF. Our strategy for the year 2025, that recently have given to know under the lemma ‘We create chemicals', signals that the engine of growth for BASF is the sustainability and the innovation. These only achieve with the necessary resources to generate ideas and turn them into reality and here have been devoting resources very important.

In fact, our budget of R&D was of 1.600 million euros and is foreseen that it follow increasing until the 1.800 millions. It is a very important episode, employ to more than nine thousand people, doctors and engineers in our central laboratories that have the mission to cater to BASF of new ideas and solutions. Our aim is that the weight of the innovative products, of less than five years, was every time greater in our total business.

In 2020 have objective of sales very ambitious. We have announced that ours put is to reach the 115.000 million euros splitting of the figure of the year happened of 74.000 millions and think to have an EBIDTA of more than 20.000 millions. That is to say, they are important growths that want to reach by means of the organic growth of the activity of BASF and by means of acquisitions.

The management of the heat is a very interesting field. We have of some special pigments very innovative that if they incorporate to pieces of plastic or simply to paintings that can go in the trucks, have the capacity to reflect the heat. That is to say, this so unpleasant experience to go in in an in midsummer parked vehicle in the sunlight, touch the steering wheel and that was to 60 °C, could happen to the history if really we achieve to popularise our solution, that consists in that these pigments that achieve to reflect the heat, prevent that this heat accumulate in the object in which they are integrated cheese cheese. This have it very experienced to scale of laboratory and are presenting these solutions to the manufacturers of pieces of plastic or to signatures like SEAT, because we think that it can be a very interesting solution.

In the field of the treatment of waters are very active because we consider that the preservation of the drinkable water is one of the main challenges that have in the actuality. We are trying to develop, for example, new technologies of desalinisation, by means of ósmosis reverse that is very extended in Spain. Precisely the Spanish market is very important in the desalinisation. To world-wide level is the second producer of water desalinizada, after Saudi Arabia.

Regarding organic electronics equipment dealers equipment dealers, are proposing the use of the LED (Light Emiting Diade) that they are the famous organic diodes. These can incorporate , for example, in structures of glass and allow to generate light through the step of current, what allows to have stays in which the own glass was emisor of light, as they can be vehicles in which all the ceiling was a source of light. It is a quite revolutionary technology and that still can not find more than in prototypes as for example, the Smart Car that have presented does little with Daimler. We think that it has a potential of important growth.

In this division have followed also a politics of concentration in the plastics that have less character commodity. When I began to work in BASF 22 years ago had practically all the assortment of plastics, the widest of all the producers of plastic of the world: poliolefinas, polietileno, polipropileno, poliestireno, plastics of engineering, PVC... This has gone changing and now same ours range of plastics concentrates , on the one hand, in the plastics of engineering, polyamide and destined polyesters to applications like pieces of car that keep on being very interesting for us. On the other hand, we give particular importance to the foams, that is to say, plastics foamed for isolation, construction or packaging, between which stand out Neopor or Megatrend, a traditional mark of BASF.

Is a new family that is growing with the marks Ecovio and Ecoflex. Here we are very active because we think that it is a category of product that offers solutions very interesting like which present, films padded manufactured with Ecovio, in place of polietileno, a material that has to collect when finishing the harvest. Our proposal is to use films of Ecovio that do not have to collect, that is to say, that can leave in the earth and when it proceeds to the plough, this plastic mixes with the rest of the vegetables. After the harvest, and to the cape of little time, degrades and turns into biomass, that is to say, supposes a saving of time, hand-held of work and of recycling. It is a field in which we see a lot of possibilities. It does not serve for everything, it is necessary to choose very well the field in which we propose this type of advantage, but are convinced that Ecovio has a very promising future.

Have also other plastics in the area of poliuretanos, for which have a division, BASF Poliuretanos Iberian, that produces systems of poliuretano for applications in car, construction, footwear or in refrigeration, amongst other. It is a very interesting sector but that now is suffering the situation of the construction and automotive sector in Spain.

The truth is that I have had the honour of suceder to Andrés Lloansi, the ancient president of the association that also was a person linked to our multinational like manager of BASF Poliuretanos Iberia. He was representative of Andimat of the family of poliuretanos and I have taken the function of president represented to the family of the XPS. In fact, the best flatter that it can do to the function of Andrés that is to say that the way that he has marked is the one who think that we have to follow.

Ours function is to defend especially the use of thermal sensors insulation, achieve that it isolate more and better in the country and that the solutions take quickly, without expecting a lot of years more, because isolate is a very efficient form to contribute to the reduction of the consumption of the power.

Yes, be more efficient energetically because to this country does him a lot of fault. We are paying a lot of money in concept of rights of broadcast of CO₂ because we do not fulfil the Protocol of Kyoto and the isolation, here, can have a very important function.

Andimat Is a good channel to move these messages to the industry and to the government, with which gathered us regularly, and will be still in this line to work jointly, defending all the insulating materials from a neutral position. We do not decant us by any of them, all have his field of application and advantages and inconvenient. We pretend to be a voice authorised of the sector.