Welsch Named as New Director of BASF Agricultural Products Europe

26/10/05 Following nearly 40 years at BASF and more than 16 years at the BASF Agricultural Products division, Claus Illing, Director of Regional Business Unit Agricultural Products Europe, will retire during the first quarter of 2006. Illing was instrumental in building the Agricultural Products division into one of the leading companies in the industry. Major recent milestones include the acquisition of American Cyanamid in 2000, as well as integrating the "Fipronil package" acquired from Bayer into existing business activities.

Klaus Welsch, currently Group Vice President for Global Operations Agricultural Products, will succeed him on 1 February 2006.
 
Illing's successor Klaus Welsch, who received a degree in chemical engineering following studies in Germany and Australia, joined the BASF Corporate Engineering Division in 1993. In 1996, he took over Project Management for the BASF/JCIC joint venture in Jilin, China. He was then appointed Vice President for Investment & Strategies Asia Pacific and moved to Hong Kong. Since 2002, Welsch has been Group Vice President for Global Operations in the Agricultural Products division. He worked at the Mt. Olive site in New Jersey, USA, before moving with the division management to Limburgerhof in 2004.