Press Release

 Solaris Chemtech Commissions Two New Plants in Bromine Segment 
Investment of Rs. 120 crore on the anvil
Reinforces position among largest players in Asia

New Delhi, May 5, 2005 - Solaris Chemtech, India’s leading knowledge and bulk chemicals manufacturer today announced commissioning of a 6000 tpa Bromine plant at Khavda (80 km from Bhuj) in the Rann of Kutch. This has taken the total capacity of Solaris to 10,000 tpa from the existing 4,000 tpa in the Bromine segment, further reinforcing its # 1 position in this segment in the country. The plant has been commissioned with an investment of Rs. 40 crores.

Simultaneously, on 4th May, 2005, a new Bromides plant with a capacity of 2000 tpa has also been commissioned at the same site to cater to the emerging needs of the Pharma and Ag -chem sectors.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Manoj Dutt, Managing Director of Solaris Chemtech said, “This is a proud moment in what has been a memorable journey for us at Solaris. With this, we have not only reinforced our position as India's largest player in Bromine and Bromine Chemicals, but also among the largest in Asia”. Our new capacities offer a huge potential to the emerging global Pharmaceutical and Ag-chem industry in India. As India emerges as a potential manufacturing hub in this area, cost competitiveness is going to be a critical differentiator. We have key advantages that make us confident of meeting the growing needs of our customers with competitive, value based offerings,” he further added. 

The company is also commencing planned expenditure of Rs. 120 crores to increase production of Bromine and Speciality Bromine chemicals. The Bromine capacity will be increased from 10,000 tpa to 24,000 tpa and that of Bromine Chemicals from 5500 tpa to 21,000 tpa over the next three years.

About Solaris Chemtech

Solaris Chemtech Limited (formerly Bilt Chemicals Limited) is a leading chemical company in the country and part of the Thapar group of companies led by Gautam Thapar. Solaris’s business portfolio includes Caustic Soda, Chlorine, Phosphoric acid, Bromine and Bromine based Speciality Bromine Chemicals. It has 4 geographically spread manufacturing plants at Karwar (Karnataka), Khavda, Bhuj (Gujarat), Singach, Jamnagar (Gujarat) and Karakhadi (Baroda). Other than its stated position of being the largest player in India in Bromine and Bromine Chemicals, Solaris is also the largest manufacturer of technical grade phosphoric acid in India and the only manufacturer of international quality Citric Acid in India. The company has a strong focus on R&D. It has a state of the art R & D centre at Baroda to aggressively drive new products development. The centre is equipped with a multi-purpose pilot plant that enables scaling up new processes and has already introduced an impressive array of new products. Further, R & D efforts in the flame retardants segment have led to in-house development of a new process for which the company has been awarded a US process patent.

For the year 2003 – 2004, the company achieved a turnover of Rs. 237 Crores, of which, Bromine and Bromine Chemicals was Rs. 50 crores. Through the planned investment, the business turnover of Bromine and Bromine Chemicals will increase to Rs. 200 crores after 2008. This will also mean a shift for Solaris Chemtech from a predominantly bulk commodity chemical player to one with a balanced portfolio with 50% of the turnover of value added speciality chemicals from the Bromine / Bromine Chemicals Division.

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