Packaging specialist Schütz has started construction of a €40 million production and logistics centre for IBCs at BASF’s main manufacturing complex in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The facility, which is due to begin operations in summer 2027, will be built on a 20,000 sq m site directly adjacent to BASF’s plant. Schütz said the project would initially create about 60 jobs, with employment eventually rising to as many as 100.
The investment is designed primarily to supply BASF with IBCs while also serving other industrial customers in the Rhine-Neckar region. The close proximity to BASF is expected to reduce the amount of road transport required to move packaging to the chemical company’s production facilities.
Schütz estimates that the new site will eliminate about 1.5 million truck kilometres a year. The company said the facility would have a direct delivery connection to the neighbouring BASF complex, shortening delivery routes and allowing packaging to be supplied to multiple unloading points within the site.
The project reflects the increasing importance of locating packaging production close to large chemical and industrial users, where transport costs, supply reliability and emissions can be affected significantly by the movement of empty or finished containers.
The new operation will manufacture IBCs and include a packaging warehouse, together with office and staff facilities. Schütz said production planning, order processing and deliveries within the BASF complex would be digitally controlled and automated.
