CHARLOTTE, NC, December 18, 2008 – BASF has appointed Karl Nicholas as Senior Technical Sales Representative for the Heartland Region of its Dispersion and Paper Chemicals business, effective December 15, 2008, where he will be responsible for the management of various customer accounts in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri.

Prior to this new assignment, Nicholas worked in various positions in the BASF Performance Chemicals business in North America, most recently as a Product Manager for pigments.  He began his career with Mazer Chemicals in 1986.

Nicholas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and a Master of Business Administration degree from DePaul University. 

Currently residing in Bangor, Pennsylvania, Nicholas will relocate to the Chicago, Illinois, area in the near future. 

The BASF dispersions business in North America includes all-acrylic, styrene-acrylic and styrene-butadiene latex products used in the manufacture of adhesives, architectural coatings, carpet backing, nonwovens, paper and paperboard products, construction mastics, thin sets and adhesives, elastomeric roof coatings, as well as for the modification of asphalt and concrete for greater durability. Major dispersion product lines include Acronal®, Acronal Optive®, Butonal®, Butofan®, Styronal® and Styrofan®.

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BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North Ameri­can affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 15,000 em­ployees in North America, and had sales of approximately $16.4 billion in 2007. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit www.basf.com/usa.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from oil and gas to chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals. As a reliable partner, BASF helps its customers in virtu­ally all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF has more than 95,000 employees and posted sales of almost €58 billion in 2007. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.