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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Earlier this week, Hans W. Reiners, president of BASF’s Agricultural Products Division, affirmed the company’s commitment to the chemical industry in the strongest language possible at a media day attended by 25 trade magazine journalists from throughout the United States. “Let’s face it, we’re a chemical company,” he said. “If nobody stands up for it…we shouldn’t be surprised that step-by-step people will say we don’t need chemicals any more. We (BASF) want to fight for a sustainable future for chemicals.”
In a bold attempt to bring that point home, BASF recently updated its brand and corporate logo to include the tagline, “BASF: The Chemical Company.”
“This is not just a claim,” Reiners said. “This is a promise which underlines our confident approach to the future.” The branding strategy is part of a corporate-wide effort to promote sustainable chemical development – an initiative the 140-year-old company calls “BASF 2015.” Reiners said all BASF associates have been asked to incorporate four “strategic guidelines” into their day-to-day work as part of the company-wide initiative. These guidelines include:
“Our ambitious BASF 2015 program will guarantee that we will remain the world leader in the chemical industry,” Reiners said. “This strategy also ensures that, just as we have in the past, BASF will continue to be a leader in shaping the future.”
To protect and expand its market position, Reiners said BASF continues to invest a significant portion of its people and financial resources in research and development. “In order to sustain our role as a leading innovator, we are continuing significant research and development efforts,” he said. In 2004, BASF invested $339 million in R&D, a $42 million increase from the previous year. “Based on new and exciting opportunities we see in our business, we plan to further increase our investment in this year and the years ahead,” he said. In 2007, the company plans to invest approximately 9 percent of its sales in R&D.
“When it comes to technology leadership, BASF Group has a long and proven track record,” Reiners said. “With 1,000 patent applications per year, BASF Group is creating innovations literally on a daily basis.”
Reiners said he is bullish about the company’s future because BASF has a “young portfolio with a high proportion of patent-protected products” as well as a “strong late-stage R&D pipeline” that should allow the company to continue to add value to its customer relationships. “To us, innovation is the most important factor in achieving success,” he said. “In order for us to be able to convince customers to buy a new … product, it must be significantly better than existing solutions. This applies to its biological effects and its reliability, to its economic benefits and – last but not least – to its safety regarding humans, animals and the environment. Combining these efforts is creating additional value – for our customers and for BASF.”
Reiners cited Termidor®, the company’s flagship termiticide, as an example of how BASF has added value an existing technology. “In an innovative approach to the general pest market,” Reiners said the company combined Termidor with Phantom® to create the Inside-Out® program, an innovative treatment approach which provides rapid pest control both inside and outside the structure. “This is the ideal position for technology leadership, from which we can advance our business further,” he said.
The result of such product innovations, according to Reiners, is higher quality sales. “About one third of our 2004 sales come from new products – new actives or new and improved formulations – launched over the last three years,” he said. “At the same time, the percentage share of patented actives in our sales steadily increased. It is now more than 50 percent, clearly ahead of comparable numbers of our competitors. Both figures prove the results of our innovation strategy.”
Following Reiners on the program was Bill Wisdom, group vice president, North America, Agricultural Products, who said BASF has “put a lot of time and effort in trying to understand the customer” in recent years.
Like Reiners, Wisdom said the company is well positioned for growth because of its rich product pipeline. “We have a very good balanced portfolio now,” he said. “I feel very good about where BASF is positioned in the marketplace.”
A tour of the company’s R&D facilities followed the presentations by the BASF executive team.