India’s DCM Shriram plans epoxy resins plant; to start up ECH, caustic soda lines

MUMBAI (ICIS)–India’s DCM Shriram plans to expand into the production of advanced materials through a greenfield epoxy resins plant, while its new epichlorohydrin (ECH) and caustic soda plants are due to start up in the next four months.

“The company is planning to invest Rs10bn ($120.6m) over the next few years to set up a greenfield state-of the-art epoxy manufacturing plant,” it said in a statement on 28 February.

Details on capacity, timeline and location of the plant were not provided.

“We are bullish about this entry into the advanced materials space. We already have some of the key raw materials like ECH and caustic in our portfolio which paves a logical way forward into the epoxy and value-added products,” DCM Shriram chair and senior managing director Ajay Shriram said.

“Advanced materials products like liquid epoxy resins, hardeners, reactive diluents and formulated resins are finding increasing applications in sectors such as wind-blades, EVs [electric vehicles], aeronautics, electronics, fire-proofing … [among other] industries,” it added.

DMC Shriram expects to begin operations at its 51,000 tonne/year ECH plant at Jhagadia in Bharuch in the western Gujarat state between April and June 2024.

It noted that more than “80% of the ECH produced globally is used in the manufacture of epoxy”.

Separately, the company expects to begin operations at its expanded caustic soda at Bharuch in March, a company source said.

Post expansion, the company’s caustic soda and chlorine capacities at the site will both be 60% higher at 813,000 tonnes/year and 715,696 tonnes/year, respectively, based on the company’s report submitted for environmental clearance in November 2019.

“Our caustic soda project should come online in this quarter,” the source said.

“We expect to take two years to ramp up capacity to full at the plant beginning with 50% capacity utilization in financial year 2024-25 and a gradual increase to around 90% by the end of fiscal 2025-26,” he added.

India’s fiscal year ends in March.

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