A lucky coincidence: Like a genie in a bottle, a solid white foam emerged from a shoe polish can in 1949. It was the material, from which Fritz Stastny developed the material of the century: Styropor^®. At the Ludwigshafen headquarters of the Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik, today's BASF SE, Stastny was looking for an effective cable insulation system and in the process, he had come up with an invention, whose prospects for success he could not initially estimate. However, he already suspected that it was a groundbreaking discovery. A month and a half earlier, he had added petroleum ether as a blowing agent to a solution of polystyrene in monostyrene, using benzoyl peroxide as a catalyst. He conducted the experiment in a shoe polish can, since it could be closed gas-tight. After opening the can, he recorded in his laboratory notebook: "Clear solution, stored at room temperature until Dec. 1, 1949. Transparent hard disc removed." The sample should now be stored in the can in the drying cabinet until the evening. The researcher forgot it there and the next morning found a rigid strand of foam in place of the disk, which had lifted the loose can lid 25 centimeters. Styropor^® was born.

Presentation of the new molded parts at the Düsseldorf plastics trade show - around 10 times lighter than cork and less expensive. The new molded parts are presented to the public at the Düsseldorf plastics trade show: Visitors crowded around BASF's booth to receive a special gift: "The lightest ship in the world" - weighing only five grams and being 15 centimeters long.

First major order: Safety buoys for the swedish company Carmarin

The first major order followed: Safety buoys for the swedish company Carmarin. BASF had been able to convince the company that Styropor^® is around 10 times lighter than cork, cheaper and also more rot-proof than the natural material.

The packaging industry also benefits from Styropor^®. Its insulating property is used to maintain the cold chain of perishable foods. Packed in Styropor^®, even electrical appliances or sensitive musical instruments are protected from shocks.

The most popular smile in the world is packed in Styropor^® in 1962. At the request of the first Lady Jacky Kennedy, The Mona Lisa goes on its journey from the Louvre in Paris to the White House in Washington D.C. – well packed in the white classic Styropor^®.

The video classic "Schaumgeboren" from 1963 illustrates how products made from expandable polystyrene (EPS) conquer the world market. Compared to 1955, Styropor® sales have grown 23-fold to approximately 32,000 tons per year.

In 1964, a special kind of rescue operation succeeds in the port of Kuwait: A sunken cattle transport ship is lifted with the help of polystyrene beads that are pumped into the ship's interior. The only disadvantage: A patent application for this unusual salvage method unexpectedly vanishes into thin air, as Walt Disney had already published the story of a similar ship salvage in 1949. The protagonist was the drake Donald Duck, who lifted a sunken yacht with ping-pong balls. In terms of patent law, a preliminary description had thus been made which prevented the Styropor^® action as a whole from being patentable.

The combination of the insulating properties of Styropor^® and the strength of concrete was used primarily as a frost-proof substructure for roads and railroad tracks and as an economical construction element in industrial and residential construction.

BASF sold its millionth ton of Styropor^®. An essential boost for the production of Styropor^® came from the oil crisis. It led to increased efforts in thermal insulation with the aim of saving energy. Because of its excellent insulating properties, Styropor^® quickly found a wide variety of applications in house construction. Even today, the insulation of buildings is the most important field of application for Styropor^®.

Neopor^® - the graphite-containing evolution of Styropor^® (EPS) is filed for patent. Improving insulation properties further and thus contribute to environmental protection. Insulation boards made of Neopor^® can be up to 20% thinner and achieve better insulation performance than conventional EPS.

BASF is pursuing various approaches to produce and recycle Styropor^® in a more environmentally friendly way, for example by processing it into new raw materials. The proportion of recycled material is continuously increasing