Notch has previously reported (here and here) on several major expansions in the works by India’s Phillips Carbon Black, including an expansion at Kochi, and new plants in India and Vietnam. These projects represent a total investment of Rs. 650 crore.
According to an article in the Economic Times, PCBL plans to build a new 80 KTPY plant in Mundra, Gujarat, India that is scheduled to come on-stream in March 2009. The Vietnamese plant will be located in the south, in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, and will have 100 KTPY. It is expected to come on-stream in December 2009. Finally, capacity at Kochi, India will increase from 40 KTPY to 90 KTPY at a cost of Rs. 160 crore. The new 50 KTPY of capacity will be for soft (carcass) grades. In addition to the new capacity, the power plant at Kochi will be expanded from 2.5 MW to 14 MW. The company needs only 4 MW so the rest will be sold to the Kerala state grid. Work on this expansion will begin in June 2009 and be completed by September 2009. The expansions also include various improvements to pollution control, including providing four modules for primary and additional secondary bag filters to control dust.