Speciality chemicals company Lubrizol Corporation has announced an investment of $150m across several projects in India, including for the construction of a chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) resin plant in Vilayat, Gujarat.
With this investment, the company will also double the capacity at its site in Dahej, Gujarat, and open a grease lab in Navi Mumbai.
The new investment is expected to generate around 4,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Lubrizol will collaborate with Grasim Industries to construct a CPVC resin plant in Vilayat with a production capacity of 100,000t.
This facility will be the world's largest single-site CPVC resin production site and support Lubrizol brands such as FlowGuard Plus, Corzan and BlazeMaster.
Grasim Industries is a flagship company of the Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group.
Ground will be broken on the plant at Grasim’s location in Vilayat later this year.
Lubrizol has been operational in India since 1966 and introduced CPVC into the market in 2001.
Furthermore, the company plans to double the CPVC compound capacity at its Dahej site from the current 70,000t to 140,000t and establish a local research and development (R&D) centre, which will be the company's second global R&D centre after North America.
It will cater to the needs of local Indian customers as well as the neighbouring markets of Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
The company is also planning to boost the capacity at its grease lab in Turbhe in Navi Mumbai with the opening of a new lab that will support the testing and development of calcium sulfonate greases.
Lubrizol president and CEO Rebecca Liebert said: “India is among the fastest-growing global economies with a favourable climate for business investment, including regional growth in many of the industries we support.
“We are building on 50 years of success in India by adding new manufacturing, lab and R&D sites, supporting in-country innovation and adding jobs that capitalise on the great expanding workforce and business conditions in India, allowing us to serve needs not only in India but in surrounding countries.”
