Mitsui Chemicals & SKC Polyurethanes Inc. (“MCNS”) celebrated the official launching of its joint venture bio-polyol manufacturing company in India, Vithal Castor Polyols Pvt. Ltd. (“VCP”), with an opening ceremony.
At the ceremony, Co-CEOs of MCNS Ki Don Won and Hiroyasu Ishimaru and Jayant Agro-Organics Ltd. Chairman Abhay V. Udeshi addressed the guests which included ministers from the South Korean and Japanese missions in India and other important persons.
VCP was established as a joint venture of Mitsui Chemicals, Itoh Oil Chemical Co. and India’s Jayant Agro-Organics Ltd. The company aims to manufacture and sell bio-polyol using Indian castor oil from non-edible plants as a main raw material. 80% of the world’s castor oil is produced in India. VCP’s manufacturing plant in India, which commenced commercial operations this January, will allow the company to stably supply overwhelmingly cost competitive bio-polyol.
The Japanese company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. It employs approximately 13,000 people worldwide. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials. With the growth of opportunities in India, Mitsui Chemicals has decided to establish its first polypropylene compounding plant in India at Japanese Investment park Neemrana phase III.
It should be noted that as Mitsui Chemicals integrated its polyurethane business with Korean SKC Co. to form MCNS, Mitsui Chemicals investment now falls under MCNS, which manufactures and sells urethane materials for wide applications including refrigerator insulation materials. In the automotive field, not only is MCNS the largest supplier of polyurethane materials for interior use to Japanese and Korean makers, it is the only manufacturer in the world to commercially supply bio-polyols derived from non-edible plants.
“With the commencement of commercial operations at VCP, it will now be possible – the company writes in a statement – to supply bio-polyol at costs competitive to fossil fuel-derived polyol.” MCNS aims to expand sales in automotive applications by capitalizing on its strong system house network comprised of nine Asian sites, including those in Japan and South Korea, and three sites in the Americas and Europe.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 