Expansions: AkzoNobel completes coatings expansion in Vietnam; India’s Chemplast Sanmar commissions PVC paste plant in Chennai

A major investment project has been completed at chemical firm AkzoNobel’s production plant in Bac Ninh province near Hanoi in Vietnam, which will help to strengthen the company’s position in Asia and sharpen its focus on more sustainable manufacturing.

Five new powder coating lines have been added at the multi-site, along with a line for producing water-based products for the consumer electronics market (IT, wireless and home appliances). The total investment amounts to EUR18.5 million.

“The cutting-edge powder coating lines we’ve installed will help us to grow with our customers, serve them faster and pave the way for a more sustainable future,” says Jeff Jirak, Managing Director of AkzoNobel’s Powder Coatings business.

“Increasing capacity at the site will enable us to focus on supporting volume growth in the northern part of the country, while our Dong Nai facility covers the southern part of Vietnam. It means we can now focus on streamlining our manufacturing processes to meet the diverse needs of the Vietnam market.”

The work included building a fully automated warehouse for the company’s consumer electronics activities, along with installing advanced equipment and technology to deliver higher productivity rates and efficiency gains. This will contribute to AkzoNobel’s ambition to halve its own carbon emissions by 2030. The installation of a new line for water-based consumer electronics products will also help to lower emissions across the value chain.

“We can now offer the latest water-based technology to our Vietnam-based multinational customers, including key Asian consumer electronic brands,” explains Maximilien Schréder, Global Director of AkzoNobel’s Consumer Electronics business. “This represents another important step forward in terms of helping to reduce the overall carbon footprint of our customers.”

Adding the new lines in Bac Ninh is the latest in a series of investments in the South Asia region, following recent capacity expansions in Pakistan, Thailand and Australia.

In other news, Chennai-based Chemplast Sanmar Ltd expects to commission its paste PVC expansion project in Cuddalore by the fourth quarter of the current financial year. The 41,000-tonne/year specialty paste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin facility at Cuddalore in the southern Tamil Nadu state will start up this year.

The new plant, which was set up at an investment of US$43 million, has increased the company’s paste PVC capacity to 107,000 tonnes/year.

"This will further cement our position as the leading Paste PVC producer in India. Despite the recent uncertainty in the industry, we are confident of the long-term potential of all our businesses and are strengthening our capabilities and relationships to grow in a sustainable manner," company MD Ramkumar Shankar said.

At Mettur, in the same state, the company operates a 66,000 tonne/year specialty PVC paste plant.

Key applications for specialty PVC paste in India include synthetic leather for apparel, footwear and automotive upholstery. It is also used to make vinyl gloves.

Meanwhile, the company commissioned the first phase of its custom manufactured chemicals division (CMCD) in September 2023 and expects to bring the second phase on stream by June 2025, the company adds.

The CMCD project at Berigai in Tamil Nadu is being set up in two phases and will produce advanced intermediates for the agrochemical, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals segments.

This project is expected to help the company expand into fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals, broaden its portfolio and access new markets and customers, the company said.

Chemplast’s wholly-owned subsidiary Chemplast Cuddalore Vinyls Ltd operates 331,000 tonnes/year of suspension PVC capacity in Tamil Nadu.

The company also produces caustic soda, chlorochemicals, hydrogen peroxide at its three manufacturing facilities in the Tamil Nadu state and in Karaikal in the union territory of Puducherry.

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