India Plant Expansions: Clariant adds pharma desiccant capability in Tamil Nadu; Nayara Energy to produce homopolymers in Gujarat

Swiss speciality chemical firm Clariant’s Healthcare Packaging business unit is now producing desiccant packets at its plant in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India. The addition expands the range of desiccant products immediately available to customers in the region and increases global capacity.

The plant now manufactures both Continu-Strip continuous-roll desiccant packets and individually cut desiccant packets in a full range of sizes. Both types of these packets can be manufactured to pharmaceutical customer requirements using a choice of desiccants – Sorb-It silica gel, Tri-Sorb molecular sieve, Getter Pak activated carbon, or 2-in-1 Pak combinations – in sizes that meet specific container or shelf-life requirements.

The Cuddalore facility continues to manufacture rigid desiccant canisters, which are inserted into pharmaceutical containers to protect contents from moisture damage. These are also available in a range of sizes, offering the same desiccant options.

“By adding the capability to produce two new lines of desiccant packets in India, Clariant Healthcare Packaging becomes a more comprehensive pharmaceutical desiccant supplier for pharmaceutical manufacturers in India and throughout the region,” said Gautam Arora, Head of Healthcare Sales India. Arora explained that the investment by Clariant for additional Cuddalore site capacity was influenced by positive market response to canister desiccants produced at the site since it opened in 2017. Throughout that time, the Cuddalore plant has been ISO 15378 GMP certified, signifying that its quality management system is compliant with manufacturing regulations and standards for primary pharmaceutical packaging.

The newly expanded plant, together with a nationwide sales team based in Mumbai and Hyderabad, enable Clariant Healthcare Packaging to offer Indian customers a full range of protective packaging solutions including desiccants, tubes and desiccant stoppers, Oxy-Guard multi-layer barrier bottles, oxygen scavengers, EQius humidity regulators, and Advanced Desiccant Polymer (ADP).

The Cuddalore site is part of Clariant Healthcare Packaging’s global network of five production plants that also include Changshu and Dongguan, China; Romorantin, France; and Belen, New Mexico, US. All five of these plants now produce desiccant packets, offering the manufacturing redundancy needed to further support customer business continuity planning (BCP) requirements.

Meanwhile in other news, India’s Nayara Energy will utilise W. R. Grace & Co’s Unipol PP process technology for its facility located at the Vadinar Refinery in Gujarat.

The new, world-scale capacity PP facility will utilise 450 KTA of propylene feedstock. Nayara Energy intends to produce phthalate-free homopolymer products for the Indian market using the PP process and catalysts technology.

Grace says its all gas-phase Unipol PP technology provides the broadest range of PP homopolymers, random copolymers, and impact copolymers in the industry. It adds, “This process technology, without any moving parts inside of the reactor and requiring less equipment than any alternative, is a reliable, safe, and stable operation that leads to lower capital, operating, and maintenance costs.”

Sergey Denisov, Nayara Energy’s Chief Development Officer said, “Investing in the Unipol PP process technology gives us the ability to make a broad range of phthalate-free products for our customers. As the demand for these advanced PP products increases in the region, Nayara Energy wants to ensure that it is using the most up-to-date, reliable, and cost-effective technology to meet our customer’s needs.”

(PRA)

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