The new Mumbai location brings together research and sales as well as business support functions, and enables the company to better meet customer needs across the region.
Additionally, an application lab was constructed to provide technical support to customers in several markets, including personal care.
Personal care trends in India
According to Bidyut Sikdar, country manager of surface chemistry, Nouryon, the rising popularity of e-commerce and consumer “willingness to adopt better, value-added products” will continue to contribute to the demand of personal care products.
He said that the company is anticipating double-digit growth in multiple segments in personal care. Sikdar elaborated that he expected the male grooming, colour cosmetics, deodorant and sun care segments to grow 15 to 20%.
As Indian consumes become increasingly conscious of health and wellness, he added that Nouryon is seeing herbal or Ayurvedic beauty products rising in popularity and more focus on anti-ageing, anti-fatigue and anti- pollution products.
With its multiple investments in India, the company said it was well-positioned to serve Indian customers with value-added products.
“India is an increasingly important market for us and these investments clearly demonstrate our commitment to grow with our customers in the region,” added Charlie Shaver, CEO of Nouryon. “The chemical industry is regarded as a backbone of India’s agricultural and industrial development, and we see good opportunities for sustainable growth.”
Kulkarni commented that Nouryon intends to capitalise on the growth of the emerging Indian market and the government policies in place to help businesses expand in India.
“Specialty chemicals in India has grown faster than the GDP. Indian customers are looking for high-quality products and are adapting best technologies available,” he said. “This in turn, is supported by many initiatives from the government, which has launched the ‘Make in India’ initiative, establishing chemical clusters and improving the ease of doing business.”
Future expansion in the works
Aside from the new facilities, Nouryon has plans to further expanding its operations.
Key projects include an expansion and upgrade of Nouryon’s organic peroxides facility in Mahad and launching a new monochloroacetic acid (MCA) plant in Gujarat.
The former is close to completion while the latter is scheduled to start production later this year.
The upcoming MCA plant is a joint project with chemicals manufacturing company Atul, a subsidiary of Lalbhai Group.
The plant will initially have an annual capacity of 32,000 tonnes. However, it was designed for an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes.This will allow the facility to produce sufficient MCA to meet Atul’s growing demand for MCA and supply the expanding Indian market.
With the new plant, Nouryon hopes to enhance its position in the market, particularly in the emerging countries, said Shrikant Kulkarni, country manager of India.
“Nouryon is the global market leader in MCA… Next to our existing production facilities in China, Europe, Japan, and the US, the Indian market offers an excellent growth opportunity,” he said.
Kulkarni expressed that Nouryon has found the “ideal partner” in Atul with its reputation as the largest MCA consumer in India.
The partnership will take advantage of Atul’s existing infrastructure and Nouryon’s leading eco-friendly hydrogenation technology, added Kulkarni.
He explained that the joint venture will receive raw materials from Atul and return a substantial portion of the MCA production to Atul for the production of agrochemicals.
Additionally, the company’s emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility fit in with Nouryon’s approach and values, he said. This is imperative as more customers are becoming increasingly aware of environmental concerns and are making the effort to follow stringent measures to curb pollution.
“They are making a choice to associate themselves with responsible partner companies, like Nouryon, who are leaders in sustainability, innovation and supplying value added products.”