inge GmbH And Aquasource Enter Into Long-Term Cooperation Agreement

inge GmbH, a subsidiary of BASF SE and a world’s leading supplier of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes and Aquasource, a leading supplier of membrane systems, have agreed to enter into a strategic cooperation effective April 1st, 2014, with each company focusing on their respective competences. Aquasource will choose inge patented Multibore membranes for all types of water, where a UF in-to-out technology is suitable. Within this cooperation, inge will concentrate on the development and production of UF membranes while Aquasource becomes a center of excellence for membrane systems. Both partners target to combine technologies to provide customers with even better solutions. Aquasource provides engineering, processes and applications and selects the best membrane technology for the customers’ needs.

Know-how on membrane material is considered to be the key success factor for future innovations in polymer membranes. Since the acquisition by BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, in 2011, the Greifenberg (Germany) based inge GmbH has access to the comprehensive know-how of the BASF polymer experts and expands as a growth field the range of products and solutions of BASF’s Water Solutions business worldwide.

In the last two years BASF and inge have jointly defined several R&D projects in order to drive forward innovation in UF membranes. This shows BASF’s commitment to expand its membrane technology leadership and to become the leading supplier of chemistry-based solutions for the industrial and municipal water treatment.

inge CEO Bruno Steis and Marc Messerli, CEO of Aquasource, jointly summarize the advantages as follows: “This strategic cooperation will allow our clients to benefit from the competence of two leading European companies in developing innovative membrane technologies, with inge focusing on membrane optimization and Aquasource on the provision of membrane systems for water treatment plants.”

Aquasource, based in France, is a leading supplier of membrane systems and is part of the Technology division of the Degrémont Group (Suez Environment). Pioneers in ultrafiltration, Aquasource participates actively and all over the world in UF projects. The processes created by the own innovation program allow Aquasource to propose innovative, efficient and ecological ultrafiltration solutions for drinking, industrial or recycled waters. Production plants using Aquasource’s systems are implanted in over 25 countries, and in over 300 sites.

About inge GmbH
inge GmbH (inge.ag), based in Greifenberg, Germany is a world's leading provider of ultrafiltration technology, a membrane process used to treat drinking water, process water, wastewater and sea water.

With a global reach enhanced by its network of partners, the company has completed numerous reference projects around the globe featuring its cutting-edge technology. In August 2011, inge became part of BASF, the world’s leading chemical company.

Its range of products include highly-efficient ultrafiltration modules and cost-effective, space-saving rack designs as the core components of water treatment plants, rounded off by the superb technical support it provides to its customers.

All the company's products are based on the in-house development of its patented Multibore membrane technology, providing the top-quality standards for which German-made goods are known. The extremely small-pore filters of the Multibore membrane reliably intercept not only particles, but also microorganisms such as bacteria or even viruses, thereby providing a dependable source of clean water. Deployment of the inge technology also offers significant advantages over conventional water treatment methods, such as rapid and easy module installation and stable, highly resilient membranes. This makes planning a water treatment facility much simpler, enabling customers to achieve low-cost installation and operation. And all this comes with a guarantee of long-lasting reliability.

About BASF Water, Oilfield and Mining Solutions
BASF offers a wide range of solutions and products for the water, oilfield and mining industry. The product range of Global Water Solutions includes products used in the key processes of industrial and municipal water treatment. The business is a leading supplier of products to clarify the raw water used for the production of drinking water, to treat the waste water stream and industrial process water, to protect desalination plants, cooling towers and boilers. We are the leading provider of inge ultrafiltration membrane technology. Within our Global Oilfield Solutions business, we help the oilfield service industry make efficient formulations. Our portfolio comprises products for the drilling and completion of oil wells as well as chemicals for continuous and cost efficient production of valuable oil and gas resources. We develop next generation of surfactants and polymers designed to support enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations by means of chemical injection. Mining Solutions offer an extensive range of mineral processing reagents. Our strengths are in solid/liquid separation and solvent extraction; we also offer reagents for flotation, dispersing, agglomerating and others. Further information can be found at watersolutions.basf.com | oilfield-solutions.basf.com | mining-solutions.basf.com/.

About BASF
BASF (basf.com) is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of about €74B in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).