Dahej, Gujarat -- BASF has swapped production of TPU in Dahej for its Cellasto cellular polyurethane elasatomers, used in the growing Indian automotive industry.
BASF said that it would supply TPU from other plants outside India.
‘Plans to expand capacity of Cellasto and cease thermoplastic polyurethane manufacturing at the Dahej site in Gujarat demonstrates how we optimise our manufacturing assets to meet the needs of the market and customers,’ said Raman Ramachandran, managing director of BASF India. The expansion will include a new production line, and follows the installation of testing equipment for Cellasto that was installed there earlier this year. No capacity was given.
Ramachandran said the move was designed to meet growing demand for transport in India. ‘By 2030, India is slated to be among the three largest automotive manufacturers worldwide,’ he said. ‘To be able to meet this demand, our manufacturing facilities need to be efficient and effective.’
BASF inaugurated its large-scale chemical production complex at Dahej in Gujarat, India in 2014. It has invested around $150 m in the project, and the site represents BASF’s single largest investment in India.
The move will not leads to job cuts at the Dahej manufacturing site, as employees currently working in TPU production will be redeployed in other areas, including Cellasto production.
The Dahej site includes an MDI splitter, and is an integrated hub for polyurethane manufacturing and production facilities for systems, care chemicals and polymer dispersions.
BASF India registered overall sales of INR 14.3 bn for the quarter ended 30 September 2017, compared to INR 13,9 bn in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, representing an increase of 12%.
