MUMBAI, INDIA — Finolex Industries Ltd. has increased capacity of its PVC pipe plant in Maser, India.
The plant became operational in March 2013 with annual capacity of 30,000 metric tonnes.
“We have increased the annual capacity by 20,000 tonnes in March 2014,” said managing director Saurabh S. Dhanorkar, in an interview with Plastics News at the Vinyl India conference in Mumbai.
The company has invested about $20 million in the plant to serve the fast-growing market in northern India. The plant was the company's first outside India's Maharashtra region, where Finolex has two plants.
“There is a huge demand for quality PVC pipe, and the market is growing rapidly in India,” Dhanorkar said. “Moreover, with infrastructure and housing projects are going on throughout the country, the PVC pipe market has not been affected by the slowdown as in other sectors.”
The company has plans to expand its plant in Pune, and to establish a production base in eastern India. The regional expansion is likely in three to four years.
Dhanorkar said the irrigation sector is driving growth in the PVC pipe market in India. In addition to pipe, Finolex makes PVC resin and fittings.