Huntsman expands in India amidst construction boom

Mumbai – Huntsman India has expanded its construction portfolio to chase huge potential growth, in a country regarded as the world’s third-largest construction market.

“We've expanded our footprint in Chakan by expanding into the construction coating vertical in January 2023 by introducing construction chemistries like polyurea, spray foam insulation,” Rahul Tikoo, managing director of Huntsman India, told Urethanes Technology International.

The construction coating business is a new acquisition globally for Huntsman and operates under the Huntsman Building Solutions brand. “Waterproofing is always a big challenge in India,” said Tikoo. “Traditionally epoxy or PU is used but now moving forward we have introduced Polyurea which is a solution that last 25 years.” Polyurea offers strong adhesion to substrates include concrete, wood, asphalt and blasted steel. And its typical applications include waterproofing, floor joints and seam sealants, pipelines, and concrete coating.

Without sharing investment details, Huntsman India said it has made significant investment in equipment and machinery to produce all kinds of polyurea chemistries 100% in India for domestic market.

Huntsman India has also expanded its technology development centre (TDC) adding a construction vertical to the Chakan site. A new experience centre has been created, as part of the expansion, to allow customers to experience the various possibilities and its wide applications of polyurethanes.

“We can actually make an automotive seat, a pair of shoes, a pillow, and even spray a waterproofing solution within the experience centre, so the customer walks in, and can see and feel [a product before] it goes to the marke – they can do exact replica of what could be made on machine,” said Tikoo

Commenting on the PU market, Tikoo continued: “India’s PU market is at a very exciting stage as the market has just starting to mature – in-fact it’s starting to evolve, actually – rather than mature. What has been sown by this industry in the past five to 10 years, is now reaping benefits with multiple applications of PU in ever expanding segments.

Huntsman India has over 25 years’ presence in the country and also operates a large research and development facility co-located with its Mumbai headquarters.