BASF to shut two Care Chemicals plants at Dahej site

German chemicals giant, BASF’s Indian arm has approved the closure of its sulphation and low-temperature reactor plants at the Dahej manufacturing site, under the company's Care Chemicals business. 

The decision was taken at a board meeting on August 4, 2026, and the closure is expected to be completed by the end of calendar year 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

BASF India said the plants were being shut due to a “changing competitive landscape” in India that has led to “extensive overcapacity, elevated costs and pressure on margins”. The Care Chemicals business will continue to manufacture, import and sell its other chemical products to customers in India based on demand, indicating the closure is confined to these specific units rather than a wider exit from the segment.

Sulphation plants typically convert fatty alcohols (often ethoxylated) into anionic surfactants, while low-temperature reactor plants are deployed for reactions that need to be run below ambient temperatures to control reaction rate, selectivity, or product stability — often relevant in ethoxylation, sulphation, or specialty surfactant/emulsifier synthesis, where excess heat can degrade the product or trigger unwanted side reactions.

During the financial year 2025-26, the manufacturing operations pertaining to the Care Chemicals business at Dahej site, forming part of the Nutrition & Care Segment, contributed revenues of Rs. 542-crore representing 4% of the total revenues of the company.