Japan's Sekisui Chemical eyes India for growing CPVC compound business

Sekisui Chemical, the Japanese manufacturer of high-performance plastics used in housing & infrastructure sectors, is reportedly eyeing India’s growing construction industry for its chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) compound business. CPVC is a special type of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with added chloride, and is mainly used as a raw material in pipes for supplying hot water, industry, and sprinklers, etc, which require heat-resistance.
 
Sekisui Chemical will use at its recently constructed CPVC resin and compound plants at Map Ta Phut in Thailand to export CPVC compound in India. “In order to grow its CPVC compound business (sold under as the Durastream brand), Sekisui Chemical is planning to expand sales of mainly the raw materials for heat-resistant pipes in India and the Middle East, where construction demand is expanding,” said Sekisui Chemical in a press release.
 
In recent years, the switch from metal to CPVC in pipes used in buildings such as homes and factories, etc, in Asian countries such as India and in the Middle East has been progressing. In parallel, construction demand concomitant with economic growth is also booming. Consequently, demand for CPVC is growing every year, and solid expansion is also expected in the future.
 
While Sekisui Chemical has built the new CPVC resin plant in joint venture with Lubrizol Corporation, it has also expanded CPVC resin production capacity at its group company, Tokuyama Sekisui Co Ltd, from 33,000 metric tonnes to 40,000 metric tonnes in July 2013.
 
“Generally, tin and lead compounds are used as stabilising agents in the production of CPVC compounds. However, it is feared that tin and lead can negatively impact the environment and human health due to the way they are handled, and so Sekisui Chemical and Tokuyama Sekisui have been promoting the development of CPVC compounds that use stabilising agents with no tin or lead,” said Sekisui Chemical.
 
In future, production at the newly-built Thai compound plant will be aimed at expanding sales in India and the Middle East, added the company.