OPC UA for flexible automation: Successful collaboration with BASF

As industries embrace digital transformation, seamless communication between systems becomes essential. At BASF, modern communication standards like OPC UA are playing a key role in shaping the future of industrial automation—enabling secure, scalable, and interoperable data exchange. By showcasing practical implementations and technological advancements within BASF’s operations, this piece offers valuable insight into how leading companies are modernizing their processes to stay competitive, efficient, and ready for the challenges of tomorrow.

BASF SE is a leading global chemical corporation that has been synonymous with innovation and excellence for more than 150 years. At its Ludwigshafen base, which is BASF’s largest integrated production site in the world, modern technologies are employed to optimize the intralogistics sector. This is where collaboration with Wipotec comes in. With their precise checkweigher and innovative OPC UA interface, Wipotec supports BASF in making their production processes more efficient and future-proof

Checkweigher with OPC UA interface

BASF relies on solutions from Wipotec, especially in the field of vertical integration and process automation to meet the stringent quality and efficiency requirements of the production process.

Oliver Weigel, Manager Intralogistic Solutions at BASF, explains the importance: “We use the HC-A-MI checkweigher to test and develop new technologies, especially the OPC UA interface, in our intralogistics sector.”

OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture) is a revolutionary technology that enables secure and standardized exchange of data and information between various machines and systems in a production environment. It offers a platform-independent, interoperable and manufacturer independent solution for machine communication.

BASF was looking for a partner whose product portfolio would support the further development of the intralogistics sector. Wipotec, as a long-standing member of the OPC Foundation, which is part of the working group on OPC UA coordinated by the VDMA and a permanent member of the Core Working Group, played a key role in developing the Companion Specification OPC UA for Weighing Technology and proved an ideal partner.

HC-A-MI checkweigher with OPC UA interface in test equipment laboratories

Our customer: BASF SE

With over 110,000 employees around the globe and a portfolio that includes chemicals, plastics, crop protection products and more, BASF is a leading player in the global chemical industry. At the Ludwigshafen site, the focus is on optimizing the intralogistics sector and integrating modern automation solutions.

Established: 1865
Locations: Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
Employees: > 110,000 around the world
Products: Chemicals, plastics, finishing products, crop protection products
More information: www.basf.com

Successful collaboration and development

The OPC UA Companion Specification sets out how machines provide relevant information in a standardized way. This makes integrating new machines much easier and more efficient. The collaboration between BASF and Wipotec is the result of a shared vision: to realize seamless, efficient machine integration. “We have overcome initial hurdles together and tested the interface in a real production environment.

Our experience was positive across the board,” Weigel states. Thanks to close collaboration and support from Wipotec, challenges that arose during implementation were quickly overcome. “The collaboration is extremely cooperative and uncomplicated. Adjustments can be made quickly and easily,” Weigel confirms in his praise for the partnership.

Oliver Weigel, Intralogistic Solutions Manager at BASF, at the control unit of the user interface (right) together with Dirk Schäfer (left), Sales Manager at Wipotec

Together into the future

Further development of the OPC UA interface and close collaboration with Wipotec are a vital element of BASF’s future strategy. Weigel confirms, “Wipotec will continue to be an important partner for the modern connection of our checkweighers using OPC UA and automation solutions.”

To date the results have been promising, and both companies are continuously working to optimize and expand machine integration. Feedback from BASF’s different production divisions has been entirely positive so far. Wipotec's precise measurement technology and easy integration thanks to OPC UA offer BASF advantages in process control and automation.