India’s Chemplast Sanmar to invest Rs1.6bn in specialty chemicals

MUMBAI (ICIS)–India’s Chemplast Sanmar plans to invest rupee (Rs) 1.6 billion ($19 million) to expand the capacity at its custom manufactured chemical division (CMCD) at Berigai in the southern Tamil Nadu state.

The increase in capacity will help the company cater to growing demand in various industrial sectors, a company source said.

Chemplast commissioned the first phase of the CMCD in September 2023 and expects to bring the second phase on stream by September 2025, the source added.

The CMCD project which produces advanced intermediates for the agrochemical, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals segments, will help the company expand into fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals, broaden its portfolio and access new markets and customers, he said.

“We have recently signed a new letter of intent (LOI) with an agrochemical innovator for an advanced intermediate for a new active ingredient. This is the fifth LOI that we have signed over the past 20 months,” the source added.

In addition to the CMCD division, Chemplast has a production capacity of 107,000 tonnes/year of specialty paste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from its units at Cuddalore and Mettur in Tamil Nadu.

Chemplast’s wholly owned subsidiary Chemplast Cuddalore Vinyls Ltd operates 331,000 tonnes/year of suspension PVC capacity in Tamil Nadu.

The company also produces caustic soda, chlorochemicals, hydrogen peroxide at its three manufacturing facilities in the Tamil Nadu state and in Karaikal in the union territory of Puducherry.

($1 = Rs83.94)