Swiss chemical maker to invest over Rs 100 cr in its newly acquired facility

“This strategic acquisition will help us increase our footprint in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region,” said Paul Hulme,president of Huntsman’s Textile Effects (TE) divisions,on Thursday. Around 52 per cent of the revenue of TE comes from the APAC region. TE has around 1,400 employees in the region,and the latest acquisition will give them another 700 employees.

Denying having any retrenchment plans post acquisition,Hulme said,“The employees have been registered as Huntsman employees.” This will be a backward integration for TE.

Asked whether the company is looking at forward integration,he said,“There are no plans for forward integration at this stage,” adding that the expansion of the Vadodara site is on the cards.

The site in Vadodara is the second largest (after Basel,Switzerland) within the TE division and has potential for further expansion,especially in the fields of specialty dyes and key intermediates needed for the production of dyes in India and other TE plants.

Hulme said the facility in Vadodara would also be certified by REACH,a new European community regulation on chemicals and their safe use. “We are in the process of getting the certification. REACH deals with registration,evaluation,authorisation and restriction of chemical substances,” he added.