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The Rs 700-crore Kolkata based Himadri Chemicals and Industries Ltd will firm up its plans to set up a 200,000 tonnes capacity coal-tar distillation plant in Orissa in the next six months.
Plans are also afoot to expand its product offerings by introducing downstream products of coal-tar pitch, Mr Anurag Choudhary, Chief Executive Officer, said.
Coal-tar pitch is the key raw material used for manufacturing aluminium and graphite, which together consume about 91 per cent of the total coal-tar pitch produced in the country.
“We want to set up a coal tar distillation unit between Angul and Jharsuguda in Orissa in order to be closer to our key customers like Vedanta and Nalco. Though we are yet to finalise on the location, however, we may need about 100 acres of land for setting up the production facility,” Mr Choudhary said.
The plant in Orissa is a part of the company's plans to more than double its capacity to 600,000 tonnes by March 2014 at an estimated investment of about Rs 520 crore.
The Orissa unit might entail an investment of about Rs 380 crore, he said, refusing to divulge further details.
Product Basket
Himadri also plans to expand its product bouquet by introducing downstream products of coal-tar pitch. The company has already rolled out products such as binder pitch, zero quinolene insoluble coal-tar pitch, kerosote oil, carbon black, advanced carbon material, naphthalene, SNF (sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde) and coal tar enamel.
The company is also working on a host of new products such as mesophase pitch – used in the production of advanced carbon materials, isotropic pitch – used for manufacturing carbon fibres, needle coke – used as a raw material in the graphite industry and carbazole.
“We will start rolling out these products once we achieve capacity of 400,000-500,000 tonnes. Once we have achieved volume expansion then we will look at value addition,” Mr Choudhary said. These products would be rolled out of the company's existing integrated coal-tar pitch plant at Mahistikry in Hooghly district of West Bengal.
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