In an interview Bharat Vaghasia, Proprietor, Nova International with Chemical Today magazine gives his opinion about the changes that the dyes & pigments, synthetic & natural antioxidants and other markets are undergoing which are in turn changing the overall functioning of the chemical industry.
Nova International has developed a varied portfolio of products. Give us an idea about the company.
Nova International was established in 1999 with the aim to cater the global market in the field of intermediates for pigments, dyes and pharmaceuticals. We later added a range of anti-oxidants. Nova International has very strong customer base around the globe. We export various products to more than 45 countries including some renowned MNCs.
What is the future growth strategy of the company?
Nova has earned its reputation by providing quality products and timely service. Due to this, our customers always come up with their demand for new molecules. This has encouraged us to tie up with suppliers who have strong R&D back-up. We are planning to setup our own state-of-the-art R&D platform. This will help us deliver new molecules within the timeline. We also plan to set-up custom warehouses at some strategic locations.
Mention the trends in the dyes & pigments intermediates.
Currently, the trend is for high-performance pigments and environment friendly dyes & pigments. Therefore, demands for new intermediates are increasing. It is more of a value-based product in current times.
Which sectors have growth potential in emerging markets related to natural and synthetic antioxidants?
Meat, poultry, sea food, beverage, bakery, confectionary, packaged food (snacks, dairy, frozen), oils, fats have great potential. Demand in bio diesel sector may also revive once fossil oil rates bounces back. These areas will fuel growth of the synthetic antioxidants. Animal feed, edible oil, bakery & confectionary, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and personal care will help grow the natural antioxidants market.
Explain the trends in the butylatedhydroxytoluene (BHT), butylatedhydroxyanisole (BHA) market?
Antioxidants, commonly referred to as “shelf-life extenders,” extend the shelf-life of feed nutrients in animal feed elements such as vitamins, fats, pigments, and flavouring agents. Thus, animal feed antioxidants serve to provide nutrient security to the animals dependent on the feed. Oxidisation of animal feed leads to reduced performance and weakened health of animals. It is therefore essential to keep animal feed from getting oxidised, purpose that is aptly served by animal feed antioxidants.
The globally rising demand for livestock products such as milk, eggs and meat has led to significant rise in demand for animal feed antioxidants, along with the primary rise in demand for natural and synthetic animal feed. It is expected that livestock producers on a global front will focus on high use of antioxidants in animal feed to reduce instances of nutrient loss and deteriorated feed quality due to oxidation.
What are the future demands for BHT and BHA products?
Synthetic antioxidants may lose their market share to natural antioxidants as many European nations have either decreased the concentration of synthetic antioxidants in their final products or they have switched to natural antioxidants. However, ever increasing demand in edible application with keep BHA & BHT demand stable.
Elaborate on your focus regarding R&D and innovation related to your products.
We have tied up with private and institutional R&D centres. But very soon we will have our own R&D set up. MNCs are reducing their R&D expenses by M&A. It may create a kind of vacuum for development of new products particularly in our range of products.
Give us an overview of the challenges in the dyes & pigments markets.
Environmental issues are holding back the industry. Preferences for more environmentally friendly products need faster R&D outcome. Despite the healthy growth, even faster advances will be limited by a moderation in global vehicle production. Slow growth in printing inks due to the challenges facing the print media industry, principally due to the growing publication of information in electronic form, will restrain overall dye and pigment demand. Slowdown in the construction sector is also a big concern. Volatility in raw material rates and overcapacity in some of the items are some of the other challenges. Lastly, growing competition from Chinese companies is always a looming issue.
What are the challenges in the synthetic & natural antioxidants sector?
Increasing legal restrictions in some of the applications of synthetic antioxidants by various countries is an issue. But synthetic antioxidants are holding on to the market share owing to the fact that they are far lower cost products compared to natural antioxidants. But, consumer pressure due to health concern will continue to drive the market toward the use of natural antioxidants. Natural oxidants are far expensive. Sudden increase in the demand of natural oxidant cannot be met, as it will create demand – supply gap.
Read More: Meeting global demand by raising standards
No comments:
Post a Comment