On February 28, 2022, BASF and DBC Group renewed their partnership by hosting a 'Deepened Strategic Partnership Signing Ceremony and Launch of Second-Generation DPU Sports Flooring Products' at Shanghai BASF. The companies signed a second five-year exclusive strategic cooperation agreement, aiming to leverage their strengths in product innovation, platform resources, and market coverage to deepen their collaboration in the sports flooring sector. Together, they will support strong regional partners to provide comprehensive solutions for school and sports field projects.
At the event, the second-generation DPU sports flooring polyurethane adhesive was also launched. This more environmentally friendly, durable, and safer product will enhance the overall quality and market competitiveness of DPU sports flooring systems, including DPU running tracks, basketball courts, kindergarten-specific floors, and fitness paths. Representatives from both companies, including DBC Chairman Lin Fanqiu, BASF Global Vice President for Greater China Region Desheng Long, Rohit Ghosh, Regional Director of Building Industry Business for BASF Asia Pacific, and Xu Xin, Business Management for Building Industry in Greater China, attended the meeting.
Both companies have been deeply committed to the sports flooring industry, embodying a shared commitment to innovation and long-termism.
Looking back at 2016, BASF and DBC jointly developed and launched the DPU sports flooring product line, which introduced innovative factors such as environmentally friendly and high-performance polyurethane adhesives and ETPU and EPDM elastic particles into the sports flooring industry. This innovation sparked a technological revolution in the sector, achieving a perfect blend of environmental performance and physical usage for running tracks. The DPU sports flooring system has been widely recognized for its safety, comfort, and durability, with over 3,000 successful cases in China by the end of 2021. In the sports flooring industry, the collaboration between BASF and DBC has set a benchmark for the integration of foreign and domestic enterprises, and their renewed partnership further underscores their shared commitment to innovation and long-termism.
Desheng Long, Global Vice President of BASF Asia Pacific's Speciality Materials Division, stated, 'Over the past five years, BASF and DBC have leveraged their respective strengths in the sports flooring industry to achieve fruitful results and a mutually beneficial situation. The signing of this new five-year strategic cooperation agreement will allow both parties to fully capitalize on their industry backgrounds, resources, and technological advantages to enhance production and supply capabilities and market service efficiency. Additionally, we will focus on developing niche markets and driving growth, using core technologies and landmark projects to promote the high-quality development of the sports flooring industry.'
DBC Group Chairman James Lin, drawing on the ancient Chinese educator Xunzi’s phrase 'a thousand miles begin with a single step,' described the past five years of industry innovation with BASF as a journey of shared progress. He said, 'Without accumulating small steps, one cannot reach a thousand miles; without accumulating small streams, one cannot form a great river. The initial motivation for DBC and BASF to collaborate on this business was to address the environmental and safety concerns of school sports fields at that time. This path has not been easy, but it holds significant meaning. The long-term partnership between BASF and DBC not only aligns with both parties' interests but also meets the common interests of the industry and its customer base. Together, we have developed a new standard for sports flooring that integrates environmental protection, durability, and safety, contributing value to the high-quality construction of sports fields for Chinese youth and children.' Over the past five years, we initiated the development of China's sports flooring technical standards and promoted the establishment of a global competitive landscape, driving overall technological progress in the Chinese sports flooring industry.
Reflecting on our collaboration over the past five years, we feel a mix of joy, pride, and accomplishment, as well as deep reflection and continuous improvement. Every innovation and achievement is hard-won, the result of countless brainstorming sessions, rigorous experimental validation, and countless sleepless nights. From jointly developing children's sports flooring, university and competition-specific running tracks, and school rubberized running tracks, to basketball courts, urban fitness paths, and community sunlit sports fields, each step has been marked by innovation. Driven by innovation and committed to long-termism, trust has deeply rooted in our partnership, fostering a shared vision of mutual growth. Looking ahead to the next five years, DBC and BASF will continue to deepen our collaboration in the specialized sports facilities market, unleashing the power of innovation, and jointly achieving new goals.
Rohit Ghosh, Regional Head of Construction Industry Business for BASF’s Performance Materials Asia Pacific (speaking via video link), said, 'Over the past few years, our close collaboration in the running track industry has yielded remarkable results, particularly in joint branding and market promotion. DBC’s strong marketing capabilities have also impressed me, infusing traditional running track businesses with new vitality. Despite numerous challenges, we have worked hard to overcome difficulties, achieving expected sales volumes and reaching this point today. I am pleased to see that the renewal of our exclusive agreement has been approved and will be signed today, extending our partnership. This marks the beginning of a new five-year journey for DBC and BASF, and I am confident that we can collaborate more closely to build the BASF running track product brand and create new sales records.'
Steven Sui, Head of Construction Industry Business for BASF’s Performance Materials Greater China, stated, 'As the business support department for DBC and BASF’s sports flooring series products, we have collaborated with DBC based on technological innovation and practical applications. Looking ahead to the next five years, BASF and DBC will continue to walk a path of future innovation and development, gathering new strength from challenges. The newly launched second-generation DPU sports flooring adhesive, after precise technical optimization and market validation, marks the beginning of further collaboration. Products based on this second-generation adhesive will meet a wider range of sports applications, including kindergarten sports protection floors, school rubberized running tracks and basketball courts, university and professional sports venues, international school sports fields, fitness paths, and community sunlit sports fields.'
Photo taken on February 28, 2022
Looking back at our achievements over the past five years and envisioning a new five-year plan for the future
BASF and DBC have made relentless efforts to promote the healthy development of China’s sports flooring industry.
In January 2016, DBC Group and BASF co-hosted the 'Initiative Meeting for Environmental Standards of Sports Flooring in China', bringing together experts from across the industry's upstream and downstream sectors to establish environmental standards for sports flooring, develop scientific methods and indicators for evaluating green athletic tracks, and optimize the industrial environment for sustainable development.
In July 2016, BASF, DBC Group, the Shanghai Chemical Building Materials Industry Association, and Shanghai Jianke Inspection Co., Ltd. signed a four-party strategic cooperation agreement to promote standardized development in sports venue construction, ensuring the environmental and safety use of school sports fields.
In February 2017, BASF and DBC Group jointly released the 'National Price White Paper for Sports Flooring', introducing new pricing concepts to replace outdated models, helping to address issues such as low-quality, low-priced tracks in the industry.
In March 2017, the '321 Quality Development Self-discipline Declaration for Sports Flooring' was released, calling on all industry practitioners to jointly build and nurture an industry self-regulatory system, striving to provide high-quality, green, and environmentally friendly sports flooring products for schools and sports venues.
In December 2017, DBC Group and the China Private Education Association jointly initiated a strategic cooperation to build green campus standards, accelerating the application of new environmental and durable sports flooring technologies in the market.
From 2017 to 2019, DBC Group and BASF co-organized the 'Golden Spatula Award National Advanced Technician Competition for Sports Flooring' for three consecutive years, passing on and promoting the spirit of craftsmanship. At the same time, they aimed to lead the standardization of sports flooring material construction in the industry, ensuring that more technical workers meet professional construction standards and enhancing their overall competitiveness.
Setting standards first, DBC Group and BASF deeply participated in the drafting and formulation of the strictest environmental standards for sports flooring—Shanghai's local standard 'Limitation of Harmful Substances in School Sports Grounds'—in 2016. After its official release in April 2016, the standard was effectively implemented with joint efforts from the Shanghai Education Commission and Quality Supervision Department. The benchmark role of Shanghai also spurred the formulation of local and group standards in other provinces and cities. In May 2018, the new national mandatory standard 'Synthetic Material Surface for School Sports Grounds' GB36246-2018 was initiated by the Ministry of Education, with DBC Group actively contributing to the drafting process and participating as an expert group member in nationwide standard interpretation work to promote the implementation of the new standard.
With the implementation of the new national standard, the sports flooring industry has finally entered a new phase after two years of low period. During this period of industry pain, those who remained clear-sighted and thought about the future direction of the industry and their companies were wise and would become the winners in this round of industry adjustment. DBC Group, a Shanghai-based company, and BASF, a German company, through close cooperation over several years, not only fully participated in this special phase of industry development but also promoted overall technological progress through innovation in technology and standards, jointly creating a new model of win-win cooperation.
In recent years, more than 30% of the application cases in sports flooring projects involved kindergartens, reflecting the high standards and quality of DPU products. Kindergartens have stricter requirements for floor materials, and DPU protective flooring has been recognized and chosen by kindergartens due to its compliance with the strictest environmental standards set by the EU. The DPU children's protective sports flooring is acclaimed by sports education professionals as an outstanding product that releases the global potential for the development of children's sports activities.
On the path of innovation, we never stop. Looking ahead to the next five years, BASF and DBC Group will continue to deepen their cooperation in the sports flooring industry, driving brand value through outstanding product quality, and jointly composing a glorious new chapter of collaboration and development.
Prepared and Ready for Greater Success. Upholding a long-term perspective, BASF and DBC Group will continue to contribute to the high-quality development of the sports flooring industry in the context of global collaboration, witnessing the rise of China's sports industry.
