Finolex Will Expand PVC Production in India, Supporting India's Projected $6 Billion in Future Chemical Processing Projects

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Finolex Industries, Limited (Pune, India) is currently awaiting approval to expand PVC (polyvinyl chloride) production capacity at their complex in Ratnagiri, Mahrashtra, India (Plant 1054137; PEC 89000708). The expansion would lift the existing capacity from 135,000 metric tons a year to approximately 270,000 metric tons a year. The investment for the project is estimated at $110 million and pending approval from the Board of Directors; construction is scheduled for the first quarter of 2004.

The PVC process technology was licensed from Hoechst AG (Frankfurt Am Main, Germany). Hoechst's PVC process technology begins with ethylene dichloride that is converted into vinyl chloro monomer by an oxy-chlorination process and then processed by polymerization into PVC.

Over the last two years, Industrialinfo.com has identified and reported over 60 chemical processing projects in India. Forty-two of those projects are still under construction or actively being planned for construction within the next two to three years. These 42 projects equal a Total Investment Value (TIV) of over $6 billion and represent eight different chemical categories when comparing SIC codes.

Click the image to the right to view a sample project index of the three largest chemical projects reported in 2003 plus an analysis of active projects reported since January 2002.

Finolex Industries, which is a division of the Finolex Group, uses the PVC produced to manufacture PVC pipes and fittings at the Ratnagiri complex, which was commissioned in 1994. Currently, Finolex is the largest PVC pipe manufacturer and the third largest PVC producer in India and the PVC production accounts for 70% of Finolex's revenue. They produce pipes and fittings to be used in agriculture, plumbing, casing, SWR and telephone ducting. The latest product introduced by Finolex is the "Ringfit" pipe, which is an elastomeric sealing ring used to connect pipes. Finolex produces 32,850 tons a year of PVC pipes and 735 tons a year of fittings. Finolex might add a VCM (vinyl chloride monomer) production unit in the future to alleviate raw material costs.