The chemical giant that hides in thousands of products

You open the fridge and grab a bag of salad. The plastics used to package food can contain materials such as Lupolen or Ultramid. They are manufactured by the chemical company BASF. You put on your Adidas to go for a run. Some models in the Boost range incorporate a material called Infinergy in the sole. Also from BASF. On the way back, you pass by a toy store and see some Playmobil figures: the hands and joints of the figures have been manufactured with a plastic called Ultraform. From BASF. Even the building where you live may be insulated with Styropor, a type of expanded polystyrene. BASF has been manufacturing it since 1951.

BASF is a German chemical multinational that, despite going quite unnoticed by the consumer, is present in many areas of daily life. Founded over 160 years ago, today it is one of the great global giants of the chemical industry. In 2025, it had a turnover of 59.657 billion euros, obtained a net profit of about 1.6 billion, and has more than 108,000 employees around the world. In Catalonia, where it opened the headquarters of its Spanish subsidiary in 1966, it has production centers in Tarragona, Rubí, Castellbisbal, and the Zona Franca of Barcelona, among others. But how was this chemical empire born?

The discovery of chemical dyes

The history of BASF begins in 1865 in Mannheim, in southwestern Germany. Friedrich Engelhorn, an entrepreneur who had made his fortune producing gas from coal, had found a new use for one of the waste products it generated: coal tar. It could be used to manufacture synthetic dyes. He began producing fuchsin, a reddish pigment, and aniline, a substance obtained from tar that was used to make dyes. But Engelhorn wanted to go further: to create a company capable of controlling the entire manufacturing process, from raw materials to finished dyes. Thus, Badische Anilin & Sodafabrik was born, known by the acronym BASF.

The business grew rapidly. In 1869, it managed to synthesize alizarin, a red dye that became its first major international success. And in 1897, after seventeen years of research, it began marketing synthetic indigo, the blue pigment that decades later would become especially popular with blue jeans.

At the beginning of the 20th century, however, BASF had already understood that its future could not depend solely on dyes. One of the great leaps forward came in 1913, when it succeeded in manufacturing synthetic ammonia on an industrial scale thanks to the Haber-Bosch process, developed by the chemist Fritz Haber and adapted for industrial production by Carl Bosch. The invention revolutionized the manufacture of fertilizers, but it also had military applications: during the First World War, ammonia was used to produce explosives.

From war to global expansion

The growth of BASF, however, was also marked by wars and tragedies. In 1921, an explosion at the Oppau plant caused more than 500 deaths. Four years later, the company merged with Bayer, Hoechst, and three other German chemical companies to create IG Farben, one of the country's largest industrial conglomerates. During the thirties, the group promoted the manufacturing of rubber, synthetic fuels, and plastics, but it was also closely linked to the Nazi regime.

During the Second World War, it participated in the German war economy and used forced labor, including prisoners from the Auschwitz concentration camp. After the conflict ended, the Allies ordered the dismantling of IG Farben and, in 1952, BASF was re-established as an independent company. From then on, it committed to plastics, industrial chemical products, and international expansion.

It was during this new phase that BASF arrived in Catalonia. In 1966, it established BASF Española, based in Barcelona, and in 1969, it inaugurated a Styropor production plant in Tarragona. Those facilities were gradually expanded, while the company acquired businesses such as Curtex, in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, or entered the polyurethane business in Rubí. At the same time, BASF continued to grow around the world. Over the years, the dye business that Friedrich Engelhorn had promoted ended up becoming a conglomerate with activities ranging from agriculture to automotive, including construction, food, and consumer products.