Chemical giant BASF announces a $780 million project that will double production capacity at its Ascension Parish plant in Geismar. BASF Senior Vice President and plant manager Jeremy Lebold says, when complete, they will produce $600,000 metric tons of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) annually.
“Whether its the football helmets you wear, the shoes you put on, its in the cars that you drive, its in the appliances that you use and basically these products that we make like this MDI are things that people use every single day,” said Lebold.
Lebold says this is the third part of a three-phase expansion of BASF’s MDI manufacturing facility. He says the investment will help them retain over 1,000 existing employees and create nearly 40 new direct jobs.
“Project started back in 2018 and should finish up by the end of 2025, again this is third phase of three phases and the total investment over all three phases is a little over a billion dollars,” said Lebold.
Lebold says when the expansion is done, it will be one of the largest producers of MDI in America.
BASF says the seven-year expansion project will allow it to meet growing North American demand for its products in construction, appliance, transportation, automotive and other sectors.
