NE BUSINESS BUREAU
MUMBAI, OCT 30
To meet growing demand for chlorinated polyvinyl chloride pipe and fittings in India, CPVC compound manufacturers Lubrizol Advanced Materials and Aditya Birla Group’s flagship firm Grasim Industries have entered into a definitive agreement for setting up a plant to manufacture and supply CPVC resin in India.
Once commissioned, the nearly 1-lakh-tonne CPVC plant at Grasim’s site in Vilayat, Gujarat, will be the largest single-site capacity for CPVC resin production globally, Lubrizol said in a statement on Friday.
The project will be done in two phases, with the first phase of production expected to be operational in late-2022.
To support the local market, Lubrizol will make additional investments in the coming years to expand its existing CPVC compound plant at Dahej, Gujarat, and establish a local innovation centre as demand continues to grow, the statement added.
India is among the largest consumers of CPVC, primarily in the form of plumbing pipe and fittings, and the growing needs for clean water in all residential and commercial buildings will drive continued growth.
To date, Lubrizol products have been instrumental in delivering safer water to some 200 million citizens in South Asia.
Lubrizol has plans to introduce other advanced water solutions in India in near future.
With this investment to supply resin to its existing compounding plant in Dahej, Lubrizol becomes the only company in India with an end-to-end CPVC capability.
Lubrizol continued to strengthen its customer network, collaborating with local firms like Ashirvad Pipes, an Aliaxis company, and Prince Pipes to ensure robust distribution in India and South Asia.
“This alliance will help us better serve our customers in India and South Asia, as well as support the Indian economy,” Lubrizol Advanced Materials Vice-President (South Asia) Arnau Pano said.
Kalyan Ram Madabhushi, CEO (global chemicals) and group business head (fertilisers and insulators) at Aditya Birla Group, said, “This collaboration with Lubrizol Advanced Materials is part of our long-term direction to bring in world-class technologies to India and additionally complements our growth strategy in Chlor-Alkali and Derivatives platform.”
The tie-up will also enable Aditya Birla Group and The Lubrizol Corporation to explore collaboration opportunities across additional segments, such as water management, construction, textiles, automotive, and piping, by leveraging the technologies and market channels of both groups, it added.
