Lubrizol rolls out investment plans for transportation lubricants in India

Lubrizol Corporation has rolled out ambitious plans to invest in transportation lubricants, water management systems and health and hygiene segments in India. Vince Misiti, general manager, TempRite Engineered Polymers, Lubrizol, informed that the company is very bullish on the growth of the Indian market and their first priority is to win in India. In the chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) sector itself, India continues to expand and the company believes it's going to be a bright future for India. Lubrizol, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary with revenues close to $7 billion, had in October signed a definitive agreement with Aditya Birla Group's flagship to manufacture CPVC resin at Grasim's Chlor-alkali plant in Gujarat. This special type of polymer material is widely used in hot and cold water pipes. The company has already had a market-facing approach with Ashirvad (Ashirvad Pipes) and Prince (Prince Pipes and Fittings); now with Grasim and has touched the back-end approach too. He said the project will be implemented in phases and the first phase will be completed at the end of 2022. The partnership will cater to the cold and hot water pipe segment to start with and after that, the company hopes to move into other areas such as water management chain and coating for the transportation segment. Whether it is in the water management chain or water purification or other areas of clean and healthy water being brought to Indian people and it believes that's a key sector for India where Lubrizol can play a huge role. Lubrizol has a $50-million (₹325 crore) CPVC compounding plant in Dahej that commenced operations in 2016. The plant has the capacity to produce nearly 55,000 tons of compounds annually. This was part of the $200-million (₹1,300 crore) investment the company announced in 2013, which included the opening up of a resin manufacturing plant at Rayong, Thailand and an expansion facility at Louisville, Kentucky and USA.