BASF makes nylon 6 and its raw material caprolactam at Antwerp in Belgium and Ludwigshafen in Germany, according to Chemical & Engineering News. In recent years the company has cut caprolactam capacity at Ludwigshafen because of competitive pressure, including a wave of new capacity from China.
Highsun describes itself as the world's largest caprolactam producer and bought Netherlands-based caprolactam maker Fibrant in 2018. The two companies said their respective engineering polymers businesses would not be within the scope of the proposed combination.
The exploration comes as European producers of commodity intermediates grapple with high energy costs, weak demand and competition from Asian capacity. The agreement is at the exploration stage and no binding transaction terms were disclosed.
The move follows other European portfolio actions, including Covestro's decision to consolidate polycarbonate production at Antwerp and discontinue BPA output there.
