Chemical Industry

Govt initiates countervailing duty probe on import of Vietnamese chemical

India has initiated a countervailing duty probe into increased imports of a chemical - Calcium Carbonate Filler Masterbatch - used in the plastic industry, from Vietnam following a complaint from domestic players. The move is aimed at guarding domestic manufacturers from the increase in imports that are subsidised by Vietnam. The investigation has been initiated by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), an arm of the commerce ministry. Compounds and Masterbatch Manufacturers Association of India and Masterbatch Manufacturers Association have filed a petition before the directorate on behalf of the domestic industry for initiation of the probe on the chemical exported from Vietnam into India. The DGTR in a notification has said that the applicants have alleged that the product is being imported into India from Vietnam at subsidized prices in significant quantities for a prolonged period, causing material injury to it. They have requested for imposition of countervailing

4 die after inhaling toxic gas at chemical unit in Gujarat's Bharuch

Four workers died after inhaling toxic fumes following a gas leak at a chemical plant at Dahej in Gujarat's Bharuch district, police said on Sunday. The company said all four were given immediate medical care but could not be saved. It has announced Rs 30 lakh ex gratia to the kin of each victim. A company employee and three contractual workers fell unconscious after poisonous fumes leaked from a pipe at a production unit of the Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited (GFL) on Saturday night, Dahej police station inspector BM Patidar said. They were rushed to a private hospital where all four of them died, he said. The bodies were sent for postmortem and further probe into the incident was underway, the official said. The deceased have been identified as Rajesh Kumar Maganadiya (48), (hailing from Bharuch), Mudrika Yadav (29) (from Adhaura in Jharkhand), Suchit Prasad (39) and Mahesh Nandlal (25) (both from Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh), police said. In a media statement, GFL said the inci

IREL, Kazakh firm to form JV to harness India's titanium potential

Indian Rare Earth Limited (IREL) has signed an agreement with a Kazakhstan-based company to develop the titanium value chain in India by harnessing the potential of rare-earth minerals in the coastal parts of the country. The joint venture between IREL (India) Limited and Ust-Kamenogorsk Titanium and Magnesium Plant JSC (UKTMP JSC) proposes to convert low titanium oxide (TiO2) ilmenite produced in Odisha to titanium slag, which is in great demand in the aerospace and defence sectors. "The setting up of this JV plant is expected to catalyse the establishment of chloride pigment/Ti Slag/sponge manufacturing industry, which has been hindered by non-availability of high TiO2 feedstock," Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question. Titanium is highly corrosion-resistant and remains unaffected by most acids, bases, environmental conditions, and has a low density paired with high strength. These qualities make

Tata Chemicals arm TCEL plans to invest Rs 655 cr in new UK facility

Tata Chemicals on Tuesday said its wholly-owned subsidiary Tata Chemicals Europe (TCEL) is planning an investment of 60 million Euro (Rs 655 crore) to build a 1,80,000 tonnes per annum pharmaceutical grade sodium bicarbonate plant in Northwich in the UK. This new plant will triple TCEL's production capacity of pharmaceutical grade sodium bicarbonate in the UK, Tata Chemicals aid in a regulatory filing. The construction of the plant is expected to commence in 2025, with first production likely to begin in 2027. The new plant, using a patented process, will use carbon dioxide captured from energy generation emissions as a key raw material and will meet growing demand for high grade sodium bicarbonate from pharmaceutical manufacturers for use in medicines and hemodialysis. Further, Tata Chemicals said that as part of the restructuring operations to facilitate this investment, the Board of TCEL has approved the proposal to cease chemical production at its loss-making Lostock plant by t

BASF India Q2FY25 results: PAT falls 14% to Rs 128 cr on higher input costs

Net profit fell to Rs 128 crore ($15.2 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30, from Rs 149 crore a year earlier

Confident of achieving $31 bn chemical export target in FY25: CHEMEXCIL

The export target of USD 31 billion for 2024-25 will be achieved, as there is a healthy demand for 'made in India' chemicals in countries like Brazil, the US, Japan and Saudi Arabia, CHEMEXCIL Director General Raghuveer Kini said. The Basic Chemicals, Cosmetics and Dyes Export Promotion Council (CHEMEXCIL) is set by the commerce ministry to promote exports of these goods. Kini said that the total exports of chemicals during April-September rose by 4.57 per cent to USD 14.1 billion. "So far, we are registering good growth, and we are confident of achieving the USD 31 billion target this fiscal. Last year, it was around USD 30 billion," he added. During the second half of this year, the exports will grow at a faster pace, he noted. "Last year, because of drought in Brazil, which is the key market for us, exports were down. But this year, the situation is good, and we expect high growth," Kini said. India exports these goods worth about USD one billion annually to the South American

Epigral Q2FY25 results: PAT up two-fold at Rs 81 cr, revenue at Rs 632 cr

Integrated chemical manufacturer Epigral Ltd on Saturday reported more than two-fold jump in profit to Rs 81 crore in the September quarter. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 38 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue for the previous quarter rose 32 per cent to Rs 632 from Rs 479 crore in the same period year earlier, Epigral said. The company said its sales volume grew 6 per cent year-on-year driven by derivatives and specialty business. The capacity utilisation during the quarter under review stood at 83 per cent year-on-year, the company said. Realisations dropped for all products -- except for chloromethanes -- in range of 1-7 per cent, it said. Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride resin capacity will be doubled to 1,50,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) while epichlorohydrin capacity will be enhanced to 1,00,000 TPA at the company's Dahej plant in Gujarat, it added.

SRF Q2 results: Net profit falls 33% to Rs 201.42 cr on higher expenses

Chemical firm SRF Ltd on Tuesday reported a 33 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 201.42 crore for the second quarter of this fiscal on higher expenses and announced plans to invest Rs 1,100 crore on new plants to manufacture fourth-generation refrigerants. Its net profit stood at Rs 300.78 crore in the year-ago period. The total income rose to Rs 3,457.63 crore during the July-September period of this fiscal from Rs 3,206.48 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company's total expenses increased to Rs 3,173.97 crore in the second quarter from Rs 2,791.67 crore a year ago. SRF Chairman and Managing Director Ashish Bharat Ram said, While the performance this quarter has been expectedly subdued, I believe the worst is now behind us. We will start seeing an improvement from this quarter onwards with a likelihood of a strong finish to the year". SRF also informed that its Board of Directors approved "a project for setting up new

RIL Q2 results: Net profit slips 5% to Rs 16,563 crore on weak fuel biz

This is the third consecutive quarter the company has reported a decline in profits owing to weakness in its oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business. RIL's Q2 profits also missed street estimates

DIY Drug Production: FTVC's low-cost solution to expensive medicines

FTVC has developed a "MicroLab", an open-source controlled lab reactor (CLR) made from components easily available online

Gas leak in Thane's Ambernath sparks panic, locals report breathing issues

The situation is now under control with no injuries reported. An investigation is underway to see if any lapses in safety protocols resulted in the gas leak

JB Chemicals & Pharma Q1 results: Net profit jumps 25% to Rs 177 cr

JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals on Thursday said its net profit increased 25 per cent year-on-year to Rs 177 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2024. The drug firm had reported a net profit of Rs 142 crore in the April-June period last fiscal. Total income increased to Rs 1,010 crore in the June quarter from Rs 902 crore in the year-ago period, JB Pharma said in a regulatory filing. "Our overall performance in the first quarter has been robust. We have reached a new milestone of Rs 1,000 crore in quarterly sales for the first time during any quarter, with improvement across all parameters - revenue, gross profit, operating profit and operating profit margin," CEO and Wholetime Director Nikhil Chopra stated. Strong performance in the domestic business has continued, with each of the big brand franchises witnessing market-beating growth, he added. "We expect the international business including CDMO business to pick up in the second half of the financial year. The good start .

SRF Q1FY25 results: Net profit down 30% to Rs 252 cr on weak global demand

The chemicals industry has been grappling with high inventory and destocking for the past few quarters, leading to continuous pressure on volume and margins, according to analysts

BASF India parent firm to sell flocculants biz to Solenis, stock down 3%

The decline in stock price occurred following the announcement that BASF SE, the parent company, would sell its flocculants business for mining applications to Solenis

Adani Wilmar to buy 67% stake in Omkar Chemicals, aims to expand footprint

AWL expects to close the deal in three to four months and it doesn't need government or regulatory approvals, it said in its filing

Kronox Lab Sciences IPO allotment today: How to check status and latest GMP

Kronox Lab Sciences IPO allotment will be finalised on June 6, the IPO received receives 117.25 times subscription on last day of offer

Death toll rises to 9 in Thane chemical factory blast, owners booked

The death toll in the chemical factory blast in Maharashtra's Thane district rose to nine with the discovery of one more body from the accident site, officials said on Friday. Police have registered a case of culpable homicide against the owners of the unit, Amudan Chemicals, located in Phase 2 of Dombivli MIDC. Kalyan Tehsildar Sachin Shejal said the toll might go up as they suspect more bodies are lying on the premises of the devastated factory. The debris is being cleared, said the official. He said 64 persons, including many women from the factories in the vicinity, were injured and are being treated in at least six different hospitals. AIMS hospital in Dombivli is treating two dozen patients, he said. A boiler exploded at the factory on Thursday afternoon and the impact of the blast and the resultant blaze affected adjacent factories and houses, according to officials. Ten fire engines were pressed into service to control the blaze and the firefighting went past 11 pm on ...

Sequential recovery to neutralise chemical companies' sales slump

Alchemy of revival: Early recovery catalysts blend with stable prices and eased supplier tensions

Haldia Petchem planning $10 bn oil-to-chemical project in south India

The company wants to boost profits by locally producing specialty chemicals

Fire catches chemical factory located near Jaipur; 6 dead, 1 injured

Six people died and one other was injured in a fire that broke out at a chemical factory in Jaipur district's Bassi area on Saturday evening, officials said. Jaipur District Collector Prakash Rajpurohit said the fire broke late this evening after an explosion in the boiler of the factory. One of the two injured, who was to Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh government hospital with 95 per cent burn injuries, died in the hospital, officials said. According to hospital sources, the other injured has suffered 65 per cent burn injuries and undergoing treatment at the hospital. Jaipur Commissioner of Police Biju George Joseph said that five people died on the spot. The fire has been doused. "The injured have been brought to SMS Hospital here. Doctors are trying their best to provide them better treatment," DC Rajpurohit said, adding that the matter will be probed. Soon after the incident, locals gathered at the spot, demanding action against the factory owner who is absconding. Rajasthan Chief