In a candid interview with Chemical Today Magazine, Knut Schwalenberg, MD, Industrial Chemicals business, AkzoNobel, talks at length about his Asian ambitions and vision behind the Indian MCA production plant.
By Debarati Das
AkzoNobel’s chemical business overview.
The chemical business of AkzoNobel has about 5 billion turnovers. We have 5 business areas- namely Industrial Chemicals producing salt and chemicals like chlorines, caustic soda, monochloroacetic acid, etc; Polymer Chemicals which produce catalysts for polymer and plastic industry; Surfactants; Pulp & Performance Chemicals and Ethylene & Sulphur derivate production units.
Vision behind ANAVEN
We are the global market and technology leader of MCA and we are trying to expand the position further as the demand for MCA is growing in the emerging countries. We have factories in China, Europe, Japan, and in the US. Our next aim was to enter the Indian market which offers an excellent opportunity for further growth. But MCA production needs chlorine which is not easy to transport. So we were looking for a local chlorine production plant which can easily supply chlorine. Atul was an ideal partner for us as they have an established chlorine plant, they incorporate sustainability in their process and they are also involved in community programmes and social responsibility activities which made them a clear fit into the values of our company. Atul is also the largest consumer of MCA. So while we will get chlorine from Atul, 1/3rd of the initial MCA production will go to Atul for the production of herbicide 2,4-D.
We are the first company to install the best available technology for the MCA production. With this initiative, we will hold nearly 50 percent of the Indian market share and become the market leader of MCA in India. We are solely aiming for global leadership.
Technologies to be used in the Indian MCA plant
We are aiming for technologies which can use smaller MCA plants with highest resource efficiency. We will be using the proprietary technology of AkzoNobel which has the highest efficiency. Once installed it will be the most modern plant in the world.
Key growth drivers of MCA market.
MCA is used in a lot of applications like agriculture, cosmetics, surfactants, pharmaceuticals, food, etc. In all areas, MCA is used as an intermediate. It is very reactive and that is the strength of MCA and the reason why it is used in so many applications.
The key drivers for this industry are GDP and population. We assume that the growth of MCA in India is about 8 percent, while globally it is less than 3-4 percent.
Challenges with MCA
MCA is not an easy chemical. Safety in handling MCA is of key importance. You have to have experience and safe equipment in handling these chemicals. It also requires working processes that ensure safe production. For this, we only partner with companies having a strong technological and manufacturing background.
Regions with growth potential for MCA markets
Since MCA needs chlorine and acetic acid, you can’t produce it everywhere. China is the largest market for MCA followed by Europe and that is where the manufacturing is predominantly based. US is a smaller market, India is growing very fast.
Innovation in MCA
At AkzoNobel, a lot of research is happening in the area of MCA mainly to further improve efficiency and use of resources and maximise the yield so that we need less resources and smaller factories to produce high volume.
Implement sustainability
Sustainability for us is the key license to operate in the future. We see sustainability as a given and as an opportunity. That is the reason why AkzoNobel is very strong in sustainability. We have a clear target to reduce our carbon footprint. We aim to be a carbon neutral company by 2050 and all our activities are geared up towards this goal. Our electricity consumption has been reduced significantly. We invest in the technologies to produce acetic acid from renewable resources and chlorine CO2 neutral. We have also brought community programmes for developments.
Strategic plan to tap the potential in Asia Pacific
The Indian market supports our growth plan significantly with larger growth potential than the European and US market. We are already established in Asia with our paint and coatings activity. We also have polymer activity in India. We are now looking for other opportunities to strengthen our base in India.
© Chemical Today Magazine
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