Strategic Management,1/e

CASE STUDY 2

BASF—CAN A CHEMICAL-FREE WORLD BE DREAMED?

BASF, the largest chemical company in the world, operates its largest integrated production site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where the original chemical plant (Badische Anilin and Soda-Fabrik) was established by Friedrich Engelhorn in 1865 on the banks of River Rhine. The founder was operating gas works and street lighting for the town of Mannheim and he used the by-product tar, of his coal gas company, for the production of dyes. In 1865, BASF proposed to produce other chemicals required for dye production. As the city council of Mannheim objected the polluting chemical factory since the inhabitants of the city may be affected, the plant was located on the other side of the River Rhine at ...