MUMBAI — Baerlocher GmbH is bullish on the Indian market and has doubled capacity at its Dewas-based plant there, where it is producing solid and liquid PVC stabilizers.
The company recently doubled the solid stabilizer capacity from to 6.6 million pounds annually, said Rainer Grasmück, Baerlocher global head of PVC additives, at Vinyl India 2013, held April 12-13 in Mumbai.
Unterschleissheim, Germany-based Baerlocher started its operation in India by acquiring an active polymer additive unit of National Peroxide Ltd. Demand is prompting the expansion.
"We have observed higher market demand for stabilizers in India … and the demand will further hike in near future," Grasmück said.
He also sees growth in the construction market in India.
"The Indian market is full of potential, and window profiles will experience big growth in the years to come due to modern housing projects going on all over the country. Wood and aluminum are quickly being replaced with PVC in window profiles in India," he said.
Solid stabilizers are used in construction products like pipes, fittings and cables, and liquid stabilizers are used in films, wall coverings and flooring, he noted.
Baerlocher also plans soon to replace lead stabilizers with more environment-friendly calcium zinc, in line with Europe's VinylPlus program, a new 10-year, voluntary sustainability plan by the PVC industry there.
"European VinylPlus is built around achieving a quantum leap in recycling rates of PVC," Grasmück said.
