 "Solvay expands capacity of Novecare's surfactant plants in India")
Belgium-based specialty chemical firm Solvay has enhanced the manufacturing capabilities of its global business unit Novecare in India by expanding the capacity of its Roha and Rasal plants in Maharastra to cater to the growing demand for specialty surfactants. Solvay officially commissioned these two units on October 1, 2015.
Novecare – which serves agrochemicals, coatings, home and personal care, industrial and oil & gas markets – is one of the leading global players in surfactants, amines, phosphorus derivatives, natural & synthetic polymers and monomers, and eco-friendly solvents. In India, Novecare has manufacturing units at Roha & Rasal in Maharastra.
As per the latest expansion plan, Solvay has built a new specialty unit at Roha to produce multipurpose surfactants that will go into different markets such as agro, coatings, home & personal care, etc. Similarly, the company has increased its existing plant at Rasal, which manufactures alkoxylates and other specialty products.
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“At Rasal, we have more than doubled the capacity by de-bottlenecking the plant, while Roha plant will produce in multi-thousands tonnes,” informed Manoj Khullar, GM Novecare India, Solvay.
“Earlier, the manufacturing focus in India was on commodity surfactants. The latest expansion marks the start of next-stage growth phase in India as we are entering into specialty surfactant manufacturing in the country. We have invested in these two facilities primarily to cater to the local market and we expect Novecare products to experience double digit growth in the country,” added Pierre-Franck Valentin, VP & GM, Novecare Asia Pacific, Solvay.
Novecare views India as high growth market. Growing middle class population has led to increase in consumption of branded, high-value products. This, in turn, has resulted in rising demand for specialty chemicals, which enable companies to develop customised products based on intimate understanding of customer needs and challenges. In India, Solvay Novecare is witnessing demand not just from domestic firms, but also from multinational companies (MNCs) as they tend to follow their global manufacturing practices in the country.
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“We aim to bring to market specialty surfactants that can help companies manufacture cost-effective products that offer different type of benefits and unique experiences to the consumer,” said Valentin.
Specialty chemical business model can be success provided it is supported by R&D infrastructure which can service customers. Hence, Novecare is also increasing capabilities at its application lab in Mumbai to support the growth of its specialty chemicals business in India.
“We intend to double the size of our application lab in Mumbai in the next 3-4 years. We have regional labs, focusing on innovative solutions, spread across Asia Pacific. However, we also need technical lab in the country to focus on the application know-how for our specialty chemicals in different end-user products to offer unique characterises and benefits. For this, we require local presence with more people on the ground and, hence, the number of people in the lab will go up in near future,” informed Valentin.
Since 2010, Novecare has been engaged in an ambitious growth strategy directed at supporting expanding consumer markets, particularly in Asia. Solvay’s Novecare is already Asia’s largest specialty surfactant manufacturer with 10 production sites, two research & innovation (R&I) centres in Singapore and Shanghai, China, and a recently opened R&I laboratory in Tokyo, Japan.
Novecare – which serves agrochemicals, coatings, home and personal care, industrial and oil & gas markets – is one of the leading global players in surfactants, amines, phosphorus derivatives, natural & synthetic polymers and monomers, and eco-friendly solvents. In India, Novecare has manufacturing units at Roha & Rasal in Maharastra.
As per the latest expansion plan, Solvay has built a new specialty unit at Roha to produce multipurpose surfactants that will go into different markets such as agro, coatings, home & personal care, etc. Similarly, the company has increased its existing plant at Rasal, which manufactures alkoxylates and other specialty products.
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“At Rasal, we have more than doubled the capacity by de-bottlenecking the plant, while Roha plant will produce in multi-thousands tonnes,” informed Manoj Khullar, GM Novecare India, Solvay.
“Earlier, the manufacturing focus in India was on commodity surfactants. The latest expansion marks the start of next-stage growth phase in India as we are entering into specialty surfactant manufacturing in the country. We have invested in these two facilities primarily to cater to the local market and we expect Novecare products to experience double digit growth in the country,” added Pierre-Franck Valentin, VP & GM, Novecare Asia Pacific, Solvay.
Novecare views India as high growth market. Growing middle class population has led to increase in consumption of branded, high-value products. This, in turn, has resulted in rising demand for specialty chemicals, which enable companies to develop customised products based on intimate understanding of customer needs and challenges. In India, Solvay Novecare is witnessing demand not just from domestic firms, but also from multinational companies (MNCs) as they tend to follow their global manufacturing practices in the country.
ALSO READ: Solvay eyes India to boost specialty polymers business growth
“We aim to bring to market specialty surfactants that can help companies manufacture cost-effective products that offer different type of benefits and unique experiences to the consumer,” said Valentin.
Specialty chemical business model can be success provided it is supported by R&D infrastructure which can service customers. Hence, Novecare is also increasing capabilities at its application lab in Mumbai to support the growth of its specialty chemicals business in India.
“We intend to double the size of our application lab in Mumbai in the next 3-4 years. We have regional labs, focusing on innovative solutions, spread across Asia Pacific. However, we also need technical lab in the country to focus on the application know-how for our specialty chemicals in different end-user products to offer unique characterises and benefits. For this, we require local presence with more people on the ground and, hence, the number of people in the lab will go up in near future,” informed Valentin.
Since 2010, Novecare has been engaged in an ambitious growth strategy directed at supporting expanding consumer markets, particularly in Asia. Solvay’s Novecare is already Asia’s largest specialty surfactant manufacturer with 10 production sites, two research & innovation (R&I) centres in Singapore and Shanghai, China, and a recently opened R&I laboratory in Tokyo, Japan.