Ashland Inc keen on making fresh investment in India

The US-based specialty chemicals manufacturer is looking to grow organically in India

US-headquartered specialty chemicals manufacturer Ashland Inc said they planned to expand in India, and were looking to “grow organically” here.

“As we look to expand our presence in high growth markets, we see a disproportionately larger investments going to markets like India, China and Brazil in the coming years. We look to leverage opportunities in these countries to reach our target of registering higher growth,” said J Kevin Wills, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Ashland Inc, today.

The NYSE-listed $6.1 billion company recently opened its global business services centre here as a part of its “overall plan to build a critical mass of human resources that helps drive innovation and deploy these solutions for the improvement of its operations ”.

The centre would see addition of headcount to 300, up from the existing 120 individuals. Operating in three product segments in the country, its total workforce stands at 300 now.

Wills said all its three product verticals — specialty ingredients, performance materials and Valvoline — were growing fast. The Valvoline line of premium-branded automotive, commercial and industrial lubricants was witnessing good traction in India, and the local market figured third for them after the US and Australia, he added.

Its global Valvoline sales stood at $2 billion as of December 31, 2014. In India, Ashland Inc has formed a JV with Cummins Limited for its marketing.