Ashland Joins with India's Natural Petrochemicals to Manufacture Resins and Gel Coats

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Natural Petrochemicals Private Limited (NPPL) (Mumbai), a part of the Divine Group of companies, recently entered into a memorandum of understanding with Ashland India Private Limited (Mumbai), a subsidiary of Ashland Incorporated (NYSE:ASH) (Covington, Kentucky), to manufacture polyester resins and gel coats for Ashland in India. The mutually beneficial alliance will bring together NPPL's local manufacturing capabilities and Ashland's global outreach, sales and marketing capabilities, technological prowess and quality-control expertise. While this will support Ashland's growth in the Indian market, it is also expected to enhance NPPL's existing local presence.

NPPL, formerly Divine Petrochemical Private Limited, is India's largest single-location manufacturer of bisphenols, flame retardant resins, gel coats, isophthalates, orthophthalates, terephthalates, vinyl ester laminating resins, and unsaturated polyester resins. The Dipol polyester resins manufactured by NPPL are known to be compatible with all major fabrication processes of fiber-reinforced polymer composites. These include centrifugal casting, compression molding, filament winding, open molding, pultrusion, resin infusion, and resin transfer molding. Additionally, NPPL's manufacturing unit is strategically located in close proximity to the Kandla chemical port in the Kutch district of Gujarat, which enables its products to be exported at competitive rates. The plant is also well connected with composite fabrication units located in the central, northern, southern and western regions of the country.

The Divine Group is setting up a plant to process polyethylene terephthalate through its subsidiary, Divine Polymer Products Limited. The plant, which will be in Bhuj, Gujarat, will have a capacity of 100 billion tons per year. The company will be exempt from excise taxes for a period of five years, as granted by the central government for new industrial units. It also enjoys a sales tax holiday for a period of seven years, as granted by the state government of Gujarat.

Ashland's operations in India focus on its performance-materials business segment. It supplies specialty chemicals and custom services to the infrastructure, packaging, transportation and marine industries.

The Indian composite industry is expected to grow at a rate of 25% during the next four to five years, primarily driven by the burgeoning sectors of automotive, chemical equipment, infrastructure, oil and gas, transportation and wind energy among others. In 2005-06, the total production of composites in the country was 110,000 tons. This is expected to rise to 188,370 tons by 2010.

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