New concrete admixture production facility in Nairobi
BASF inaugurated its new production plant for concrete admixtures in Kenya. There, BASF produces standard and custom-made performance admixtures from the MasterRheobuild and the MasterGlenium product line.
“We are now able to rapidly supply our customers with admixtures for all cement and aggregate types, whether their construction projects are located in the urban areas of Eastern Africa or in more remote sites,” said Dick Purchase, head of BASF’s Regional Business Unit Construction Chemicals Middle East, West Asia, CIS and Africa. BASF’s admixtures enable to produce concrete with higher strength, and to increase its workability retention.
Double sales by the year 2020
Kenya is a particularly strong growing market for construction chemicals in Eastern Africa. “Growth in emerging markets is an integral component of BASF’s ‘We create chemistry’ strategy,” said Laurent Tainturier, Senior Vice President CIS, Middle East and Africa at BASF. “In line with this, BASF’s Africa strategy aims to double sales on the continent by the year 2020”, he said.
Employment opportunities and expertise to the region
The new production site in Nairobi is a further step to strengthen the global network of the Master Builders Solutions brand. At the opening ceremony, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ambassador Amina Mohamed, said: “Not only will BASF now be able to further contribute to the building of sustainable structures in Eastern Africa, it will also bring employment opportunities and expertise to the region’s construction sector.”
The production plant is located in the Mlolongo area of Greater Nairobi. It has good access to the road network and the MombasaPort to receive raw materials, deliver to customers in Nairobi and Kenya and to export to neighbouring countries such as South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.
