Textile Chemical Industry Poised for Growth in Asian Region

Posted on 10 February, 2010 | Tags:

Huntsman's recent acquisition of manufacturing facility for the production of intermediates and specialty products for textiles is an important step in the growth strategy. Paul Hulme, President, Textile Effects Division, Huntsman and Rohit Aggrawal, Global Vice President, Apparel and Home Textiles in conversation with Mousumi Ghosal.

Huntsman Corporation, a global manufacturer and dealer of differentiated chemicals, has acquired the Baroda Division of Metrochem Industries, a manufacturing facility for the production of intermediates and specialty products for textiles. The Baroda Division currently has more than 700 employees and contractors with annual sales of approximately 2.4 billion rupees.  According to the deal Huntsman will integrate the Baroda site with its   existing manufacturing sites in Qingdao and Panyu (China), as well as Mahachai (Thailand). This acquisition will make Asia a principal hub of the company's Textile Effects (TE) division and the main manufacturing platform to support the future of the technical textiles industry in the region and ensure it's long-term global competitiveness. "This acquisition is a major milestone in our strategy. With this move we are realigning our manufacturing footprint towards Asia, the region that will fuel our growth in the years to come," says Paul Hulme, President, Huntsman's TE division. Huntsman Textile Effects is the leading global provider of high-quality dyes and chemicals to the textile and related industries, manufacturing a broad range of dye and chemical products that enhance the color of finished textiles and improve performance characteristics. "Huntsman took over the business of Ciba Specialty Chemicals

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Rising Tide: A Conference by Frost & Sullivan

Posted on 10 February, 2010 | Tags: Curtain Raiser

Change is the only constant adage often used and abused. However, it has never been more relevant than it is today for the Chemicals. Change, business complexity and dynamics have taken on a whole new meaning. Most concepts that we were used to, all our learning's of the past lie under the threat of coming undone. The turbulent global economic weather had industry leaders and managers sweating it out to rationalize the chaos that was the defining characteristic of the last three quarters. As the rules of the game have drastically changed, organizations are re-evaluating everything - growth, survival strategies and even the fundamental business models. Yet, the importance of an informed decision cannot be understated. The standard strategy of cutting corners will repair the bottom line in the short term, but we believe that it will also paralyze companies in the long term. Companies that successfully navigate tough economic times do not sacrifice long-term potential for short-term gain; they take a much longer view and closely monitor their industries, track new opportunities emerging from economic turmoil and develop strategies to exploit the inevitable economic turnaround.Frost & Sullivan enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in

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'2009 : Deciding Year for Direction of India's Growth Story'

Posted on 10 February, 2010 | Tags:

" We are passing through uncertain times as most of the developed world is in recession. However with a capable leadership committed to strive to mitigate challenges ahead, 2009 has the potential to go down in the history of India as the year that marked beginning of many more new initiatives," says K Venkataramanan, Member of Board & President (Operations) Larsen & Toubro Limited in an Exclusive Interview Excerpts:

Last year has been a phase of slowdown in the industry with many projects delayed, being reconsidered or deferred. When do you see the situation getting stabilized?The slowdown in FY09 in India set in from October 2008 onwards, as recessionary conditions swept across most countries in the world. The financial crisis, led to a liquidity crunch as credit markets lost confidence and India witnessed substantial outflows of foreign money. This created an uncertain environment leading to delays and postponements of planned projects. The other reason for the delay in projects was the lack of decision-making on the part of the Government on account of impending elections. The election mandate has provided the political stability that was required to revive economic growth. India is expected to grow in the range of 6 percent even in this FY. Growth at the higher trajectory of 9 percent achieved in the past years is possible once the rest of the world also breaks through the recessionary environment. Leading indicators from around the world, as well as expert views of IMF and the World Bank project a scenario where there appears to be some revival in some segments of the global economy. Perhaps the declining

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MOC for Corrosive Acid Plants

Posted on 10 February, 2010 | Tags: Engineering Materials

Every year industry incurs huge losses due to corrosion. Acids though highly corrosive in nature, are an important part of manufacturing process in the Fertilizer Industry. Selection of right Material of Construction (MOC) is an important criteria to ensure longer plant life.

Industrial growth is a clear indicator of growth of a nation. The progress of a country depends directly up on the development of its Chemical, Petrochemical, Heavy Chemicals and Fertilizers Industries. Fertilizers have a vital role in agricultural production. The growing demand of food products to meet the demand of growing population will offer immense scope for growth of Fertilizer Industry across the globe. Acids, are that highly corrosive chemicals are utilized by most of the process industries. Refineries, Petrochemicals, Fertilizers, Heavy Chemicals, Pharmaceutical and Fine Chemicals etc use acids either as raw materials or intermediates to support the chemicals for operation. Phosphoric acid (H3PO4), Sulphuric acid (H2SO4), Nitric acid (HNO3) and Hydrochloric acid (HCl) are some of the acids that are mostly used as raw materials for to manufacture Phosphate or Complex Fertilizers. Since these acids are highly corrosive in nature, selection of right type of materials of construction is of utmost importance for smooth and safe plant operations. The problems due to corrosion are very complex in nature because these result in change in chemical compositions. Overflow and leakage of various chemicals in the form of liquids or vapors corrodes the process equipments, pipelines, tanks and vessels etc.

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Gas Hazards in the Petrochemical Industry

Posted on 09 February, 2010 | Tags: Plant Safety

Although flammable and toxic gas hazards are generally well understood by operators, technicians and safety personnel working within the petrochemical industry, continuous training and refreshment of knowledge is essential to avoid potential incidents linked to complacency or misguided actions.

At times, new personnel may be assigned work activities in potentially hazardous areas with only very brief training in the basics of gas hazards and the operation of detection equipment. A basic introduction to gases and associated hazards in the petrochemical industry is important for the safety personnel working in the Petrochemical Industry. Behavior of GasesDifferent gases have different densities. Heavy gases like Hydrogen Sulphide have higher densities have the tendency to sink, whereas lighter gases because of their lesser densities tend to rise. But due to their constant motion there is continuous mixing of gases and these do not form separate layers as in case of liquids. In a room when a natural gas (methane) leak is there, the gas will tend to rise as it is lighter than air. This happens in perfectly still conditions but in case of presence of any air currents, there will be an increase in mixing. But the constant motion results in a considerable concentration of methane even at the floor level. Air is a mixture of gases and its composition is reasonably constant. This it is usually considered as a single gas, which simplifies the measurement of toxic and flammable gases for

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