By Liz White, UT contributing editorLudwigshafen, Germany- BASF AG has announced a price rise of 0.10 €/kg for 1,4-butanediol in Europe, from 1 Sept 2004, or as contracts allow.The group said that this price increase is necessary "as a result of further cost increases and unsatisfactory margins."BASF has seven plants on three continents and claims this makes it the world's largest manufacturer of butanediol and its derivatives. Its total annual capacity is 575 kilotonnes of BDO equivalents worldwide. As well as being used in polyurethane production, BDO and derivatives are used to make engineering plastics, solvents, electronics chemicals and elastic fibres."
