I had the pleasure this week of a visit to the BASF headquarters in Ludwigshafen, near Frankfurt as part of a cross-party delegation of MPs and Peers, organised by the Industry and Parliament Trust. BASF is the world-leading chemicals company, and has an operation in Somercotes.
Over 2 days we had the opportunity to meet and discuss issues with a number of senior specialists at BASF covering the following topics:
– vocational training- role of the chemicals industry in the delivering growth in the UK
– sustainable construction
– use of chemicals in renewable energy generation
– R&D and getting innovation into production
The BASF headquarters cover 10 square kilometres and has over 2000 buildings. It is by far the most impressive production site I’ve ever visited.
This was a great opportunity to hear about what the issues and concerns of a major investor in the UK (and globally) are and what more this industry can do to help deliver the growth and jobs we need. I also hope we reassured BASF about how important and valued an investor they are in the UK.