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BASF Aktiengesellschaft, (German: BASF Limited-liability Company), German chemical and plastics manufacturing company originally founded in 1865 and today operating in some 30 countries. The BASF Group produces oil and natural gas, chemicals, fertilizers, plastics, synthetic fibres, dyes and pigments, potash and salt, inks and printing accessories, electronic recording accessories, cosmetic bases, pharmaceuticals, and other related equipment and products. Headquarters are in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Ger.
The company was founded in 1865 in Mannheim, as Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik (Baden Aniline & Soda Factory), one of the first dyestuff manufacturers producing a full range of chemicals from basic materials to finished products. The principal founder was Friedrich Engelhorn (1821â1902), a former goldsmith and manufacturer of coal-tar dyes. In 1919 head offices moved across the Rhine to Ludwigshafen. From 1925 to 1945 the company was part of IG Farben (q.v.), the worldâs largest chemical concern; the latter was dissolved by the Allies in 1945, and Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik, refounded in 1952, became one of the three successor firms. The shortened name, BASF Aktiengesellschaft, was adopted in 1973.
