BASF is to increase production capacity for 1,6-hexane diol (HDO) at its corporate site in Ludwigshafen, Germany by more than 20 percent before the end of 2006, taking the company’s annual global capacity to 42,000 metric tons. BASF operates a HDO plant at the corporate site in Freeport, Texas as well as Ludwigshafen. Both plants operate on the basis of BASF-designed processes. The capacity expansion comes in response to steadily increasing demand. "With this expansion, we’re helping our customers to achieve sustainable growth and supporting them in the development of innovative applications," says Hartwig Michels, head of the Business Unit Diols and Polyalcohols. HDO’s properties are essential in the manufacture of top quality resins for coatings, plastics and binding agents. The operating division Intermediates of the BASF Group develops, produces and markets the world’s largest range of intermediates. The most important of the division’s more than 600 products include amines, diols, polyalcohols and acids. Among other applications, intermediates are used as starting materials for coatings, plastics, pharmaceuticals, textile fibers, detergents and crop protectants. Innovative BASF intermediates help to improve the properties of the final product and the efficiency of production processes. The ISO 9001:2000-certified operating division Intermediates has access to plants at production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In 2005, this BASF operating division with 2,665 employees generated world sales of above 2 billion euros