HPL's plant shutdown hurts plastic units in West Bengal

The forced shutdown of Haldia Petrochemicals Limited’s naphtha cracker unit since July 6, 2014 has severely affected the downstream plastics unit in the region, according the Indian Plastics Federation (IPF).
 
Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL), one of the largest manufacturers of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in the country, supplies different grades of polymers mainly in the Eastern region. The month-long closure of HPL has disrupted the supply of polymers to plastics processors, especially the makers of injection moulded products such as syringes, crates, buckets, filaments, etc. As a result, many of the downstream units had to close down. The HPL shutdown led to the closure of nearly 150 such units, rendering thousands jobless, IPF said in a statement.
 
According to experts, HPL plant has been running at less than 50% of its capacity for the past one year. This has caused considerable damage to the plant. HPL has had to incur significant loss. For a plant of HPL's magnitude, running below 70% capacity was not favourable, added the expert.
 
Haldia Petrochemicals has been facing serious shortage of working capital for quite some time. Hence, it has been struggling to secure adequate naphtha to run the plant at full capacity.