The Victrex Polymer Solutions division of Victrex (Thornton Cleveleys / UK; www.victrex.com) has appointed Padmini Petroplast Pvt (Mumbai / India; www.padminipetroplast.com) as its distribution partner in India. Established in 1999, Padmini Petroplast sells and distributes engineering thermoplastics, including acetal, PBT, PPS and polyamides. It has regional sales offices in Biwandi, Pune, Daman, Bangalore and Chennai.

Victrex says it is entering the Indian market with an aggressive strategy and anticipates good growth for Victrex PEEK. It opened its own office in Mumbai earlier in 2009 to concentrate on market development, but has found it necessary to appoint a distribution partner because of the vast size of the country and its scattered manufacturing locations. “By leveraging Padmini’s experience dealing with the other engineering plastics, we expect they can secure a high level of Victrex PEEK business,” said ST Namgoong, marketing manager at Victrex Asia Pacific. “With the infinite potential in the market and the strong support from Padmini, we expect that our business will grow fast after several years of investment in India.”

Padmini Petroplast will commence distribution of Victrex thermoplastics in January 2010. One application area that is expected to benefit from the deployment of Victrex PEEK polymers is compression moulding. This is one of India’s key industries, with local moulding processors producing a wide range of components and parts for export to Asia, Europe and the United States.