Nalco sets up technology support centre in Pune

US based water treatment and process improvement company Nalco has set up a technology support centre in Pune. The company has invested Rs 35 crore in this centre and is recruting 200 engineers for the technology support.

Erik Fyrwald, Chairman and CEO, Nalco said, “The investments we have been making in India, both in terms of facilities like this and in hiring more people, are beginning to pay off, as we have seen strong sales growth and increased market share throughout the country. The Pune laboratory will eventually employ more than 100 engineers and chemists, three quarters of who will have advanced degrees.”

Pune will be the headquarters for sales, marketing and supply chain operations for NLC Nalco India Ltd. The company has 40 per cent sales in USA and rest is in Latin America, India, China, Brazil and China. It has set up 14-laboratories all over the world which offers knowledge based solutions in the area of water treatment, corrosion control and chemical modelling and has invested '340 crore for R&D.  

The Pune technology center includes an advanced analytical laboratory that will provide diagnostic services its customers. Pune centre will collaborate with existing Nalco laboratories in the United States, Europe, China and Brazil. The company is also planning to set up a microbiology services laboratory next year.

Manian Ramesh, Chief Technology Officer, Nalco said, “The Pune Center will become one of Nalco’s major innovation hubs for water and energy technologies. Its immediate focus will be to provide technical support to our Energy Upstream (oil field) and Downstream (refinery and chemical processing) customers throughout the eastern hemisphere, including the Asia Pacific region, the Caspian, Middle East, North Sea and West Africa.”

The company is also looking for technology partners in India. R&D Director Hari Reddy said, We are planning to collaborate with institutions like National Chemical Laboratory(NCL) and Indian Institute of Sciences for technology partnerships. Also, we will tie up with IITs, engineering colleges and will recruit 100 people by next year.

In addition, Nalco’s global knowledge solutions group will develop advanced modeling tools for water, waste-water and thermal energy systems. These models would help identify areas of improvement in industrial water use, recycle, and energy conservation.