Aditya Birla to set up carbon black plant in Mexico

Mexico City: The Aditya Birla group is close to signing a land deal with the port authority of Altamira, in eastern Mexico, to set up a carbon black plant with an investment of $150 million (Rs 600 crore).

“We may sign the agreement next week. The $150 million project will be completed in two years,” said Surendra Goyal, AV Birla Group’s joint president in Latin America, who is a member of the business delegation accompanying President Pratibha Patil.

Carbon black is a key input for the rubber processing and chemicals industry. It is mainly used in the manufacturing of tyres and conveyor belts and for also making paints, dyes and inks.

Goyal said an area near the port in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas was picked as an entry point to the US, where naptha was cheaper.

The Aditya Birla group has a capacity to produce 7,50,000 tonnes of carbon black per annum, which makes it the world’s fourth-largest manufacturer of the material.

The group has carbon black units at Alexandria in Egypt, a unit in Thailand and in China. In India, it has two plant in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with a combined capacity of 2,30,000 tonnes annually.

The Aditya Birla group has planned an investment of about $600 million (about Rs 2,400 crore) to ramp up its carbon black manufacturing capacities in India and abroad, aiming to increase its market share in the competitive industry.

Goyal, who heads the group’s operations in Latin America and Egypt, said the company was also planning to set up a plant in Oman.