In the end, US specialty chemicals producer Lubrizol (Wickliffe, Ohio; www.lubrizol.com) decided to build its new chlorinated PVC (CPVC) plant in India in Gujarat, choosing Dahej over another potential site in Maharashtra – for earlier coverage, see Plasteurope.com of 20.03.2013. The groundbreaking ceremony for the USD 50m facility with nameplate capacity for 55,000 t/y of CPVC compounds was held in early April, with operations set to commence in Q1 next year.

The facility is located in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) chemical park, where all the necessary raw materials for “TempRite” CPVC are being produced, Lubrizol said. Output of the plant is to go towards South Asia, the Middle East and East Africa, the company said, adding that it is the “first major global producer of CPVC to establish operations in India.”

Manoj Dhar, head of TempRite Engineered Polymers in South Asia, called the investment “a major step forward for our customers based in the region”, adding that, "with the projected growth of our FlowGuard hot and cold plumbing system products, this plant will be instrumental in enabling us to better meet the growing demands in the market." CPVC is used in high quality pipes, among others.

The Dahej facility is part of Lubrizol’s USD 400m global plan to raise both resin and compounding capacity.