BASF ferrochrome III - 1981
The FeCr formulations were the cassette industry's answer to Type I's treble and Type II's bass problems. A dual layer of ferro on one side and chrome on the other, before being applied onto the tape's plastic base layer produced a well balanced formulation ready to produce great results across all frequencies.
Why did the industry also stopped producing these? Economics was one reason, as the process of manufacturing a double layered tape was more expensive than their newly developed Type IV metal particle formulations, as well as Type II's new formulations with cobalt doped particles. Suddenly, there was no need for a Type III, and production stopped.
NOTE: Watch Tony Villa's video for a good review and testing of a famous and iconic Sony FeCr casseette and a very popular BASF ferrochrome III tape.
About BASF
BASF SE is a German chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world.[3][4][5] The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries and operates six integrated production sites and 390 other production sites in Europe, Asia, Australia, the Americas and Africa.[6] Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has customers in over 190 countries and supplies products to a wide variety of industries. Despite its size and global presence, BASF has received relatively little public attention since it abandoned manufacturing and selling BASF-branded consumer electronics products in the 1990s.
At the end of 2015, the company employed more than 122,000 people, with over 52,800 in Germany alone. In 2015, BASF posted sales of €70.4 billion and income from operations before special items of about €6.7 billion. The company is currently expanding its international activities with a particular focus on Asia. Between 1990 and 2005, the company invested €5.6 billion in Asia, for example in sites near Nanjing and Shanghai, China and Mangalore in India.
BASF is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock Exchange. The company delisted its ADR from the New York Stock Exchange in September 2007. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.[7][8]