Dubai, UAE – Alkyd resin and paint maker Hitech has started making polyurethane systems.
The company was founded 27 years ago is part of Hitech Industries, a conglomerate that stretches from paint making in Kazakhstan to the Unoplast flexible polyurethane foam business in Tanzania.
CEO Anupam Misra said the company decided to develop polyurethane systems to 'take advantage of spare capacity at its 72 kT/year manufacturing plant in Dubai'. He hired Balaji Ashok Pitchika as technical manager.
Pitchika has previously worked for Huntsman in Saudi Arabia, and has led development of rigid foam systems for insulation applications. The company is trialling a number of these with partners, and has achieved product approvals, Misra said .
Production is currently running at around 24kT/year, and is used to fill excess capacity on the fully depreciated plant.
'We are not back integrated, but we could produce polyester polyols and scale up if we had applications that won approvals,' Misra explained. 'We are lean, fast, and flexible. The reception has been good.'
The company aims to supply businesses in the GCC region as well as Jordan and others nearby to Dubai.
