BASF

Following the reunification of Germany, BASF acquired a site in Schwarzheide, eastern Germany, on October 25, 1990. . Following a change in corporate strategy in 1965, greater emphasis was placed on higher-value products such as coatings, pharmaceuticals, crop protection agents and fertilizers. The chain is also famous for its chili and its Frosty dairy desserts. In the 1960s, the production abroad was expanded and plants were built in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, United Kingdom, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain and the United States. In 1999 it pulled out of London and Hong Kong (the Hong Kong chain, located in Wan Chai, however, has already been closed). BASF developed polystyrene (Styropor®) in 1951. After international expansion in the 1980s, the chain retrenched in the late 1990s.

With the German economic miracle in the 1950s, BASF added synthetics such as nylon to its product range. Peller, aged 84, was dropped from the campaign in 1985 because she performed in a commercial for Prego spaghetti sauce, saying she "finally found" the beef. In 1952, BASF was refounded under its own name. Her famous line quickly entered the American pop culture (it was even used to devastating effect by Walter Mondale in defeating Gary Hart in the Democratic primary election) and served to promote Wendy's hamburgers. On July 28, 1948 an explosion in which 207 people died occurred in Ludwigshafen. Starting on January 9, 1984, elderly actress Clara Peller was featured in the successful "Where's the Beef?" North American commercial campaign for Wendy's. The allies dissolved IG Farben in November 1945. The restaurant chain was named after Dave Thomas' 8-year old daughter, Melinda, who had the nickname of "Wendy." The corporate headquarters is located in Dublin, Ohio.

The Ludwigshafen site was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War and was subsequently rebuilt. By 1989, Dave Thomas came out of retirement and started doing commericals for Wendy's and helped rebuild the restaurant until his death. Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in 1933, IG Farben cooperated with the Nazi regime, profiting from guaranteed volumes and prices and from the forced laborers provided by the government. However, by the mid-80's some Wendy's restaurants became underperforming and closed. In 1935, the BASF and AEG presented the magnetophone – the first tape recorder – at the Radio Exhibition in Berlin. The first Wendy's restaurant was opened in Columbus, Ohio on November 15, 1969, and grew rapidly to open over 3,000 stores by 1985. Rubber, fuels and coatings were added to the product range. Wendy's is a chain of fast-food restaurants founded by the late Dave Thomas and owned by the United States corporation, Wendy's International, Inc.

Under the leadership of Carl Bosch, BASF founded IG Farben together with Hoechst, Bayer and three other companies, thus losing its independence. 2005: "Do what tastes right". This was the biggest catastrophe in German industry. Circa 2004: "Eat great, even late". On September 21, 1921, an explosion occurred in Oppau, killing 565 people. 2004: "It's better here". As a result of this monopoly, BASF was able to start operations at a new site in Leuna in 1916, where explosives were produced during the First World War. Circa 1990: "The best burgers and a whole lot more".

The development of the Haber-Bosch process from 1908 to 1912 made it possible to synthesize ammonia, and in 1913 BASF started a new production plant in Oppau, adding fertilizers to its product range. 1984: "Where's the beef?". Industrial production meant that the price could be cut drastically, and one effect was to make jeans affordable work clothes. 1969: "Quality is Our Recipe". Until this time, indigo was extracted from plants and was expensive. In 1867, research into synthesis of the dye indigo was successfully concluded.

BASF was founded in Mannheim, Germany, by Friedrich Engelhorn in 1865 for the production of dyes. In Central and Eastern Europe, Wintershall works with its Russian partner Gazprom. BASF explores for and produces oil and gas through its subsidiary Wintershall AG. Products from this segment include fungicides, pesticides, herbicides, vitamins, pharmaceutical active ingredients and UV absorbers for sun creams.

In the field of plant biotechnology, BASF is concentrating on solutions for effective agriculture, healthier nutrition and plants to make products more efficiently. BASF is a supplier of agricultural products and fine chemicals for agriculture and animal nutrition, and for the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. Customers are the automotive, oil, paper, packaging, textile, sanitary products, detergents, construction materials, coatings, printing and leather industries. These include raw materials for detergents, textile and leather chemicals, pigments and raw materials for adhesives.

BASF produces a range of performance chemicals, coatings und functional polymers. BASF’s polyurethanes have very diverse uses worldwide. Engineering plastics are sold to injection molders in a variety of industries. BASF is the international leading producer of styrenics.

The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. Its business is organized in the segments Chemicals, Plastics, Performance Products, Agricultural Products & Nutrition and Oil & Gas. BASF operates in a variety of markets.

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. Between 1990 and 2005, the company will invest €5.6 billion in Asia, for example in sites near Nanjing and Shanghai, China. The company is currently expanding its international activities with a particular focus on Asia.

In 2003, BASF posted sales of €33.4 billion and income from operations before special items of almost €3 billion. BASF has customers in over 170 countries and supplies about 8,000 products to a wide variety of industries. At the end of 2003, the company employed more than 87,000 people, with over 48,000 in Germany alone. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen am Rhein (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany).

The BASF Group comprises more than 160 subsidiaries and joint ventures and operates production sites in 41 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. It is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Today, the four letters are a registered trademark. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- & Soda–Fabrik (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory).

BASF AG is a German chemical company.