Lanxess Opens Ion Exchanger Facility in India and Looks for Expansion

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Plenty of room for expansion

The opening brings to a successful conclusion what is already the second phase of expansion in Jhagadia. Back in March last year, a plant for the production of rubber chemicals had come on stream in the first phase, following the relocation of the facility from Thane in the state of Maharashtra. To date, the company has invested nearly €50 million in the site. Group CEO Heitmann is enthusiastic about the development in India and the opportunities that the new Jhagadia site presents for the whole of Asia. That’s no wonder, given the fact that the new plant offers the modern infrastructure of a small but sophisticated chemical plant, yet enough space for the possibility of adding new facilities. The next stage of expansion is to follow as early as 2012. This will then mark the start of the production of high-tech plastics for the Business Unit Semi-Crystalline Products (SCP), with a capacity of 20,000 metric tons a year and an investment cost of about €10 million.

The right conditions

Given the continued high growth rates in India, few expect this to be the end of developments at what, in Jhagadia, is an ideal location. “The chemistry between us, the political decision-makers, and the administrative authorities is just right here,” a local employee explains. “We are expressly looking to attract the chemical and other process industries to Jhagadia,” emphasised the leading political figure in the state of Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in his address marking the opening of the ion exchanger facility. And because it offers the right conditions, Gujarat has become an attractive place for industrial concerns to relocate to over the last 10 years.

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