BASF opens construction chemical plant in West Bengal

German chemical company BASF opened a concrete admixtures plant, its sixth construction chemicals facility in the country, at Kharagpur, West Bengal, to meet the increasing demands for high quality construction chemicals in the eastern part of India.
 
BASF will produce standard and custom-made performance-based construction chemicals under the Master Builders Solutions brand at the new site. These include concrete admixtures product ranges such as MasterGlenium, MasterPolyheed, MasterPel and MasterRheobuild, as well as chemical solutions for underground construction under the MasterRoc product brand. The site is supported by an office, warehouse, occupational health checkup room and a well-equipped concrete lab that will deliver tailor-made recipes through formulation excellence.
   
The World Bank estimates that India’s urban population will grow from 331 million to 500 million by 2017, which is expected to drive the demand for affordable mass housing and durable infrastructure projects. “Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing markets globally and India is a strategic growth engine of this market. The Kharagpur plant will help us better serve the growing demand for durable and energy efficient construction materials, which will make ‘Smart City’ a reality in India,” said Christian Mombaur, senior vice president (construction chemicals), Asia Pacific, BASF.
 
Dr Raman Ramachandran, chairman and managing director, BASF India Limited and Head, BASF South Asia, added, “Fast and flexible solutions are essential for the construction industry. Our sixth construction chemicals plant in India enhances our flexibility to serve our customers with prompt supply and shorter lead times, especially in the eastern and the north-eastern parts of India. This plant complements the other BASF construction chemicals plants, located in Nalagarh in the North, two at Navi Mumbai in the West and Mangalore and Nellore in the South, thereby strengthening our production and service footprint across India.”
 
With close proximity to Kolkata, Orissa and Bihar, the Kharagpur plant is well connected to transportation networks, with access to national highway, rail and Haldia Port.