BASF Raises MDI Capacity in Louisiana to 600,000 Tonnes With Investment of Nearly $1 Billion
Key Facts
BASF opened a new MDI production facility on November 11, 2026, at its integrated industrial site in Geismar, Louisiana, announcing the on-schedule completion of an expansion project costing nearly $1 billion. The facility raises annual production capacity for the material at the site to about 600,000 metric tonnes, according to the company. BASF said the expansion made it North America’s leading MDI producer. The added capacity enables an integrated and reliable local supply for customers, according to the company’s statement. The investment puts the company in a stronger position to meet demand for the material used to produce polyurethane.
The new capacity at Geismar compares with 380,000 tonnes a year, which represented BASF’s MDI production capacity in North America before the expansion, according to the company’s 2025 report. That means the announced post-completion capacity at the site exceeds the previous regional capacity cited in the report. BASF describes the expansion as making it the region’s largest producer of the material. The importance of the additional capacity depends on production’s proximity to customers and the integration of the industrial site, according to the company. This gives North American customers a local supply of the material through BASF’s regional production network.
The additional capacity is intended to meet long-term demand from customers using polyurethane in construction, appliances, transportation, automotive, footwear and furniture, according to BASF. These sectors include a range of applications for the material, including construction materials and products related to transportation and automobiles. The company also expanded aniline production capacity at Geismar, saying the additional output would supply North American customers in agricultural chemicals, rubber, dyes and pigments. This adds an expansion in another intermediate material to the project that increases MDI capacity. BASF said an integrated and reliable local supply benefits its customers.
The expansion project began in 2018 as part of a three-phase investment plan, according to BASF. The first phase, which included a new MDI synthesis unit, entered service in October 2020, and the second phase began operating in 2021. Construction of the third and final phase, whose opening was announced in November 2026, took about three years and ten months. The company’s chief executive said in February that production was scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026. The November announcement confirms the project’s on-schedule completion following the earlier phases.
BASF describes Geismar as its largest Verbund integrated site in the United States. The company has more than 150 sites in 40 U.S. states, according to its statement. In 2025, BASF’s U.S. sales amounted to 13.1 billion euros, with about 90% coming from products made in the country. These figures provide context for the company’s domestic industrial presence, which underpins the expansion project. The capacity increase at Geismar is part of a broad U.S. production network on which the company relies to meet customer needs.
The investment was completed as BASF said its core earnings fell in fiscal 2025 amid weak market demand and continued pressure on margins, with a marked decline in the chemicals segment. In its assessment of the third quarter of 2026, the company said global chemical production growth had nearly stalled compared with the strong quarter a year earlier, while U.S. chemical production fell 4.5%. BASF maintained its assumption of 1.8% growth in global chemical production in 2026 and an assumed annual average Brent crude price of $80 a barrel. The company pointed to risks related to demand, markets, margins and trade policies. In this context, the Geismar facility represents additional capacity aimed at customers in the polyurethane chain, according to the company’s announcement.