BASF Expands Dispersions Output in South Africa, Divests Brightening Agent Business

BASF, headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, completed the sale of its optical brightening agent business to Catexel at the end of February 2026 and expanded dispersions production capacity at its Durban, South Africa, site, the company announced.

The divestiture includes the international optical brightening agent business and production operations at BASF's Monthey, Switzerland, facility. As part of the transaction, approximately 80 employees transferred to Catexel. Financial terms were not disclosed. Optical brightening agents are used as ingredients in laundry detergent formulations.

Catexel is the care chemicals platform of the International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), specializing in specialty chemicals for detergents, cleaning products, personal care and industrial applications.

In a separate announcement on March 4, BASF inaugurated expanded dispersions production capacity at its Durban site, which supplies customers across East, West, and Southern Africa. According to BASF, the capacity increase is intended to improve supply reliability and support customer growth. The company also established an application laboratory on-site to support formulation development and technical collaboration with customers.

The Durban facility is one of six dispersions production locations within BASF's Europe, Middle East and Africa network.

BASF said it is the only multinational operating a dedicated dispersions production facility in South Africa. The company is marking its 60th year of operations in the country.

The Durban expansion follows a previously announced capacity increase at BASF's Mangalore, India, dispersions site, where the company added a new production line to support demand for dispersions used in architectural coatings, construction chemicals and paper applications across India and the Asia-Pacific region.