Basell establishes sales and marketing team dedicated to serving Chinese plastic pipe customers

March 26, 2007 – Basell, one of the world’s leading suppliers of resins used by customers in pipe applications, has set up a team of sales and marketing staff in its Chinese locations dedicated to addressing the polyolefin   requests of the expanding plastic pipe industry in that country.

Located in the company’s Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou sales offices, the team is designed to effectively serve Chinese customers who select Basell’s high-performance, energy-saving and reliable polypropylene and polyethylene resins for their pipe applications in the Chinese growing market.

“China is probably the fastest growing market for plastic pipes in the world,” said Michael Vogt, (Business Development Manager Pipe - Asia), who will head up the Asia team from Basell’s Hong Kong office. “We see significant potential, as demand for plastic pipe in the country is expected to grow from 680 million metres in 2005 to a projected 1.1 billion metres in 2010, an annual increase of 10.5 per cent.” He added, “Our goal is to further build upon the success we have already established in China.”

Basell’s Hostalen PE 80 and PE 100 grades are being selected by Chinese customers for manufacturing drinking water and gas pressure pipes. Pipes produced using these grades are known for their excellent impact/stiffness balance, outstanding corrosion resistance and resistance to stress cracking.

In the field of heating and plumbing applications, customers in China produce pipe using Basell’s Hostalen PP-R (polypropylene random copolymers), which combines outstanding creep strength with good impact resistance. Lupolen resins are also being used by Chinese customers for PE-X (cross-linked polyethylene) applications thanks for their outstanding environmental stress crack resistance and excellent creep behaviour at elevated temperatures.

Other Basell grades being used by customers in gravity sewage pipe applications include Hostalen PP copolymers like Hostalen PP H2483 a PP-HM (high modulus) resin which shows an improved stiffness / toughness balance compared to standard PP copolymers.

“As a resins innovator and the original developer of resins widely used by customers in pipe applications, Basell is effectively equipped to serve the needs of this growing industry,” said Richard Roudeix, vice president for Basell’s Pipe and Sheet business. ”Basell and its predecessors have more than 50 years of experience producing and supplying its Hostalen HDPE grades to customers in the pipe business. This year Basell is celebrating its 35th anniversary of supplying Lupolen grades used in cross-linking processes.

Basell is the global leader in polyolefins technology, production and marketing. It is the largest producer of polypropylene and advanced polyolefin products; a leading supplier of polyethylene and catalysts, and the industry leader in licensing polypropylene and polyethylene processes, including providing technical services for its proprietary technologies. Basell, together with its joint ventures, has manufacturing facilities in 19 countries and sells products in more than 120 countries. Additional information about Basell is available at www.basell.com.

For more information contact Kathy Chan, Basell Corporate Communications, at +852 2585 0103 or kathy.chan@basell.com