Hawkins And BASF Sign Exclusive Distribution Agreement

Agreement enhances services to water treatment customers in the Midwest

Minneapolis, MN /PRNewswire/ - Hawkins, Inc. (Nasdaq: HWKN) and BASF signed an exclusive distribution agreement for the distribution of BASF's Water Solutions portfolio throughout the Midwestern United States. Product lines included in the agreement are BASF's Zetag®, Magnafloc® LT, Burst®, Magnasol® and Antiprex® brands.  These solutions address the needs of the water treatment industry in a variety of applications such as drinking and waste water treatment, industrial process water treatment and environmental remediation.

"Hawkins offers BASF Water Solutions customers a high level of service by deploying over 150 technical sales professionals across the Central United States," said Linda Muroski, Head of BASF's Water Solutions business in North America. "Through our agreement with Hawkins, our customers in the Midwest will be able to focus on solutions to their ever changing water challenges by leveraging BASF's high-performing quality products."

"We are excited to be partnering with BASF Water Solutions, with its tremendous product line and deep expertise in water treatment chemistry," said Patrick Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer and President of Hawkins. "We believe that BASF's product offerings will allow us to even better serve our customers' needs into the future."

About Hawkins
Hawkins, Inc. distributes, blends and manufactures chemicals for its customers in a wide variety of industries. Headquartered inRoseville, Minnesota, and with 38 facilities in 17 states, the Company creates value for its customers through superb customer service and support, quality products and personalized applications. Hawkins' Water Treatment Group supplies products and equipment to treat drinking water, municipal and industrial wastewater, industrial process water and non-residential swimming pool water. For more information visit www.hawkinsinc.com.

About BASF
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 17,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $20.6 billion in 2014. For more information about BASF's North American operations, visit www.basf.us.

At BASF, we create chemistry – and have been doing so for 150 years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the world's leading chemical company, 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 over €74 billion in 2014 and around 113,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.