Nouryon, Atul Supplying Indian Markets

Nouryon and Atul successfully started production at Anaven, a new joint venture in Gujarat, India, that will help meet the rapidly growing demand in India’s agricultural, personal care and pharmaceutical markets.

Anaven is India’s largest monochloroacetic acid (MCA) production site, with a current capacity of 32,000 tons of MCA per year, with the possibility of a rapid expansion of up to 60,000 tons per year. 

MCA is used as an essential raw material for a variety of products, such as adhesives, pharmaceuticals and crop protection chemicals. Atul consumes a portion of the MCA directly in its production of crop protection chemicals.

“Through this partnership with Atul, we can leverage Nouryon’s global leadership in MCA in order to meet the fast-growing demand from customers across multiple markets in India, while also continuing to drive innovation and sustainability in the region,” said Rob Vancko, VP of Construction at Nouryon and Chairman of Anaven. 

Nouryon, which recently received the Silver Medal by EcoVadis for its sustainability achievements, applied its expertise to build a plant that uses eco-friendly hydrogenation technology and employs the latest sustainability innovations for low energy consumption. 

The Anaven plant is also the only zero-liquid discharge MCA production site in the world, meaning that zero wastewater exits the plant – a critical factor in India where water is scarce. The plant is also highly focused on continuous safety and was constructed with zero injuries. 

“Thanks to our partnership, we can apply Nouryon’s state-of-the-art technology in the new plant while creating forward and backward integration with our bulk and agri-chemicals businesses,” said Sunil Lalbhai, chairman and managing director of Atul. “The Anaven plant will ensure a reliable supply of a key raw material for the Indian market, giving a growing number of farmers, doctors and households better access to daily essentials.”

“This investment and partnership with Atul underscore Nouryon’s growth ambitions in targeted end-markets, such as agriculture, cleaning and personal care, particularly in the emerging markets of Asia,” added Sobers Sethi, senior VP Emerging Markets at Nouryon. “Securing the supply of this essential ingredient is even more important in times when global supply chains are under pressure due to COVID-19.”

Nouryon has MCA plants in the Netherlands, China and Japan, and operates an organic peroxide and metal alkyls production site in Mahad, India.