Reliance Industries opens 650 KTA PET resin plant in Dahej

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has successfully commissioned a plant to manufacture polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin at Dahej, Gujarat. The plant, which consists of two lines with a combined manufacturing capacity of 650 kilo tonnes per annum (KTA), has been built with Invista Technology for Continuous Polymerization and Buhler AG Technology for Solid State Polymerization.
 
This is one of the largest bottle-grade PET resin plants considering the manufacturing capacity at a single location globally. “This consolidates Reliance’s position as a leading PET resin producer with a global capacity of 1.15 MMTPA. Current global effective PET resin capacity is estimated at 30 MMTPA. PET resin from the new capacity would find application in packaging for water, carbonated soft drinks, pharmaceuticals and other food & beverages,” said a Reliance Industries press release.
 
The plant is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for consistent quality and reliable production capability. New capacity addition by Reliance will greatly help the downstream bottle and packaging industry in meeting the increasing demand from India and the region. India is one of the fastest growing markets for PET packaging with demand growing by 15-20% annually.
 
Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and mono ethylene glycol (MEG), the two feedstock for the new PET plant are available within the Dahej complex. This offers significant logistics advantages in the form of lower freight costs along with consistent product quality due to in-house raw material linkages.