Drucken plastics 01_04 _E_dp - BASF Plastics Portal

With patience and endurance
To develop markets in Asia – that is the challenge
facing the Specialty Polymer Team in Asia
Asia – extraordinary markets,
extraordinary business, extraordinary
people. A team, like the one
that BASF has established two years ago
for its specialties business with styrene
polymers in Europe, has been in place for
a year in the markets in Asia. A team that,
together with customers, is aiming to discover
and develop new areas of application
for specialty plastics. Where are the
markets in Asia? What is the potential there
for specialty plastics? How do the regions
differ from each other? BASF’s magazine
“plastics” spoke with Jürgen Keck. Based
in Singapore, he is responsible for market
development for specialties in Asia.
Mr Keck, after one year in Asia, where
do you see the markets for styrene
specialties?
We need to bear in mind that we are in a
region where some of the largest automobile
manufacturers in the world are headquartered.
Our products such as Luran ® S
for exterior applications on car bodies or
Terblend ® N for the interiors of vehicles and
our Terluran ® specialties have quite a lot to
offer to the Asian automotive market. We
also see great potential in the business
with motor scooters. Some 30 million
motor scooters are produced here every
year, all of which could be made using
specialty plastics. We plan to intensify our
efforts in the construction sector, which is
particularly important in China. Building
elements made of weather-resistant and
15
easy-to-process plastics such as Luran ® S
certainly have a market here. The mere fact
that global customers such as Schick-
Wilkinson have production facilities in Asia
already means that Terlux ® , our transparent
ABS, has a promising future in this region.
What is the difference between the
specialty business in Asia and in
regions like Europe or North America?
It is quite simple: things that have a market
in Europe or NAFTA cannot simply be
transferred to Asia in unchanged form.
Take, for instance, lawnmowers, a common
application for specialty plastics in
Europe but not easily transferable to Asia
since there are hardly any private lawns.
But all in all, the specialty business is
basically the same. We help with application
design and with flow mold studies and
we also have to offer services such as customer
specific colors.
Let us talk concretely about customers.
Do their requirements differ
from those in Europe?
We quickly learned that the common European
notion that it is possible to cut back
on quality in Asia is simply wrong.
Precisely, in China and India, our customers
produce for the world market.
Patience and endurance are required here.
When we present our products in China or
Malaysia, we talk to a larger audience. Up
to 40 people, ranging from mechanics to
researchers, are all involved in the
Markets and Products
Taking the pulse of new markets in
Asia: Jürgen Keck.
decision-making process. I am also
learning quite a lot from my colleagues in
Singapore, Korea, Japan, India and China.
Let us fast-forward to the future.
Where will the specialties business
stand in Asia five years from now?
All I have to do is turn to the market analyses
that we have drawn up for our target
sectors, namely automobiles and construction.
To put it in a nutshell, five years from
now, we will be the preferred partner of the
Asian automotive industry and we will have
made a name for ourselves in the construction
sector. And if everything runs
according to our plan, we could also visualize
building new capacities. Let me wrap
up by telling you about my dream: in five
years, all of China will be sleeping under
plastic roofs.
Your contact persons for specialty plastics in
Asia:
Juergen Keck, Singapore
keckj@basf-sea.com.sg +65 6432 3285
Dr. Piyada, Singapore
charoep@basf-sea.com.sg +65 6398 5037
Roland Huang, China
huangxjr@basf-china.com.cn +86 21 6385 1630
H.J. Kim, Korea
kimhj2@basf-korea.co.kr +82 2 3707 7720
J.H. Lee, Japan
JongHoo.Lee@basf-japan.co.jp +81 3 3238 2421
Satej Nabar, India
nabars@basf-india.co.in +91 22 5661 8227
Ross Kung, Taiwan
kungpyr@basf-taiwan.com.tw +886 2 2518 7667
Geoff Beilby, Australia
beilbyg@basf-australia.com.au +61 3 9212 1617
Gecha Ritvirulh, Thailand
gechar@basf-thai.co.th +66 2 204 9483
Muhamad Nasir, Malaysia
muhamnat@basf-malaysia.com.my +60 3 5628 3637
Benny Tjen, Indonesia
tjentb@basf-indonesia.co.id +62 21 526 2481