Covestro AG has added two new polycarbonate compounding lines at its plant in Noida, India.
In a news release, company officials said the new lines more than double Covestro's annual PC compounding capacity at the site. It's the firm's first major expansion in India since 2015.
The Noida project team overcame several challenges during the expansion, including COVID-19 lockdowns and a construction ban because of dust pollution in the Delhi region, officials said. Global and local travel restrictions also impacted the project, they added, causing much of the imported equipment to be installed and commissioned with virtual vendor support only.
In spite of these challenges, officials said the project was completed within its original budget.
"It is a great feeling to have completed the capacity expansion project … very specifically without any safety incidents," Site Manager V. Kumaraguru said at an opening ceremony Dec. 9.
Engineering Plastics operation head Nicolas Stoeckel added that Covestro has been investing in capacities from Germany to China to India "to further improve our competitiveness and customer-centricity."
Covestro, based in Leverkeusen, Germany, posted sales of 10.7 billion euros ($12.2 billion) in its 2020 fiscal year. The firm is a global supplier of polycarbonate resins and films, thermoplastic polyurethane, PU materials and foams and other specialty chemicals and materials.