BASF

German diversified chemicals group BASF supplies products including petrochemicals and precursors for the plastics industry, catalysts and battery materials for the automotive sector, pesticides and herbicides for agriculture, biopolymers and surfactants for the cosmetics industry, and vitamins and emulsifiers for food manufacturers. It began as a dye manufacturer, growing to scale after pioneering the Haber-Bosch ammonia production process. Later, BASF became part of disgraced IG Farben before re-emerging as a separate business after World War Two. To an extent the modern group is vertically integrated, with its chemicals division supplying the others as well as third parties. BASF’s main markets are Europe, North America and Asia, but it operates in over 90 countries. The group is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and has 112,000 employees.