BASF, Huntsman and their Chinese partners—Shanghai Hua Yi (Group Company), Sinopec Shanghai Gao Qiao Petrochemical Corporation and Shanghai Chloro-Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd.—held an opening ceremony at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park to celebrate the start-up of the integrated isocyanates complex. The project involved a total capital expenditure of $1 billion, and was completed, as scheduled, in mid-2006.

The complex has a capacity of 240,000 metric tons of crude MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate) per year and 160,000 metric tons of TDI (toluene diisocyanate) and will serve the rapidly growing market for polyurethanes in China. In the period up to 2015, the Chinese polyurethanes market is expected to grow approximately ten percent per year.

The isocyanates MDI and TDI are important precursors in the manufacture of polyurethanes – versatile polymers that are used in many applications such as the footwear, automotive and construction industries.