MUMBAI, INDIA — Belgian based chemical company Solvay SA is rapidly expanding in India as part of its global strategy of growing in the emerging economies.
India subsidiary Solvay Speciality India Pvt. Ltd. generated sales of around 227 million euros in 2013. "We are targeting to become double in size by 2016," said R. Prakash, the unit's managing director, at the Plastivision 2013 trade show in Mumbai.
Solvay opened a global R&D center in Saveli in the middle of 2012, which focuses on primary research and application development. It currently employs 50, and Solvay plans to increase that to 200 in the next three years.
Currently Solvay has more than 800 employees at eight facilities in India, including the R&D center. The manufacturing plants make specialty polymers, engineering plastics, surfactants and chemicals. Solvay is looking for organic and inorganic growth in India, with M&A efforts focused, in part, on specialty polymers.