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Carlson Wagonlit Travel Manages Business Travel for BASF in EMEA

The consolidated travel program will cover 45 countries in the region.

ESCHBORN, GERMANY, January 22, 2008 - Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), the world’s leading travel management company, is managing business travel in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) for BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, effective January 1, 2008. In addition, BASF has turned its internal travel booking service over to CWT. The travel management company has been servicing BASF in the Asia-Pacific region since 2005. 

In each of the EMEA countries where CWT will manage the chemical giant’s business travel program, a CWT business travel center will service BASF travelers. By mid-year, BASF will have a European-wide online booking tool that will enable them to drive savings and facilitate point-to-point bookings for travelers. 

"Over the last few years, managing corporate travel has become highly complex. There are so many pricing models and distribution channels that BASF can no longer provide a sustainably competitive travel booking service. This is why we are turning our internal travel booking service over to Carlson Wagonlit Travel and asking them to help us manage our business travel program overall," said Dr. Georg Wellinghoff, BASF procurement manager for Logistic Solutions. He added that the decision of BASF to use CWT as its travel management company and to consolidate the travel program in Europe was based on the latter’s vast global network and offering, its expertise in seamlessly integrating travel management technology and procedures, and its proven ability to meet the highest service level requirements. He also said that BASF-employed travel specialists who move to CWT could potentially enjoy greater career opportunities in their field than they would with BASF. 

Claudia Tensierowski, who is responsible for global travel management at BASF and heads a team of four said, "We are pleased to expand our working relationship with Carlson Wagonlit Travel beyond the Asia-Pacific region. By consolidating our travel program with CWT in EMEA, we are one step further in our efforts to effectively manage our travel program on a global basis. This will be a benefit for our company and our travelers alike.” 

Commenting on the agreement, Martina Eggler, vice president Strategic Sales & Account Management, Marketing Central & Eastern Europe for CWT said, "We have a mutual goal. CWT will contribute its expertise and its best practice approach to support BASF and help them derive the greatest benefits in terms of savings, service and security from an internationally consolidated travel program.” 

CWT will service BASF in the following EMEA countries:Algeria, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan. 


About Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) is a global leader specializing in business travel management. Present in more than 150 countries, CWT serves companies of all sizes, as well as government institutions and non-governmental organizations. By leveraging both the expertise of its people and leading-edge technology, CWT helps clients derive the greatest value from their travel program in terms of savings, service and security, and provides best-in-class service and assistance to travelers. CWT services and solutions comprise four lines of business: Traveler & Transaction Services, Program Optimization, Safety & Security, and Meetings & Events. CWT has 22,000 employees worldwide. In 2006, pro-forma sales volume for wholly owned operations and joint ventures totaled US$20.5 billion. For more information, please visit www.carlsonwagonlit.com. 


BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. BASF's portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, pesticides and fine chemicals as well as crude oil and natural gas. They are a reliable partner for their customers who are active in almost every branch of industry and help them become more successful through their high-quality products and intelligent system solutions. BASF develops new technologies and utilizes them to face the challenges of the future and to open up new market opportunities. The company combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. In this way BASF contributes towards a quality of life in the future. BASF has about 95,000 employees and achieved a turnover of 52.6 billion euros in 2006. Further information on BASF can be found on: www.basf.com.


Press relations officer (Germany):
Martina Eggler
VP Strategic Sales & Account Management, 
Marketing CEE
Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Tel.: +49 (0)69 15321 1110  
meggler@carlsonwagonlit.de

Press contact (Germany):  
Sandra Kuch                                             
Manager Marketing & Communications
Carlson Wagonlit Travel
Tel.: +49 (0)69 15321 1076
skuch@carlsonwagonlit.de

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