NEW DELHI—Phillips Carbon Black Ltd., India's largest carbon black manufacturer, plans to invest nearly $60 million to expand its carbon black production capacity. The investment comes as India grapples with shortage of supply and growing demand for carbon black products across the country.
In a May 4 annual report, PCBL said it had started working on further expansion of capacity by setting up a greenfield plant with a capacity of 150,000 metric tons per year in Chennai, Tamilnadu.
The company also is adding 50,000 tons of capacity at its Mundra production unit, in Gujarat. Expansion at the site is set to complete in the third quarter of 2019.
PCBL, which has four production sites across India, is adding another 30,000 tons of production capacity at its Palej site in Gujarat. This is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2020.
The firm, which reported an 83 percent growth in sales for the financial year ended March 31 at about $45.4 million, said the total investments would add up to about $60 million.
PCBL also has aligned with some of its strategic customers—domestic as well as international—to undertake joint development programs.