New Delhi — One of India's leading PVC pipe manufacturers, Astral Poly Technik Ltd., is in the midst of an expansion in both the northern and southern parts of the country.
The company, based in Ahmedabad, is leasing land from the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corp. Ltd. at the Ghiloh Industrial Area in the Alwar district of Rajasthan.
In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said the facility will make PVC and chlorinated PVC pipe and fittings, initially for the water market, and said it would initially invest about 70 crore Indian rupees ($11 million).
In an interview at the Acetech building products show in New Delhi in mid-December, a company official declined to share details on the total investment or capacity, but said the Rajasthan plant would cut shipping costs for supplying northern India, including Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, which are currently served by its Gujarat plant about 600 miles away.
In a November call with analysts, the company said it hoped to start commercial production in February.
In the call, company officials also said they hope to have an expansion at their plant in Tamil Nadu, in India's south, completed in April. That will also double capacity there, and includes 25 new injection molding machines.
Astral also said it formed a strategic sourcing venture with Sekisui Chemical of Japan to procure CPVC resin for hot and cold-water plumbing systems. Earlier, it had terminated a resin sourcing agreement with the U.S.-based Lubrizol Corp.
Recently, Astral launched a surface drainage product with Germany's Hauraton GmbH and Co. KG, using 100 percent recycled polypropylene. Established in 1996, the company has a network of 750 distributors in India and said it exports to more than 20 countries.