Tata Chemicals to set up Rs 150-cr nutraceuticals unit near Chennai

New green facility expected to go on stream by end of this month

Tata Chemicals Ltd, part of $100 billion plus Tata Group, is expected to invest around Rs 150 crore into setting up a nutraceuticals manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai in next three years.

The pilot production the greenfield facility has started and an official launch is scheduled by the end of this month, said R Mukundan, managing director of Tata Chemicals.

He said that the branded and non-commodity business of the company is currently at 22% of the turnover and the target is to grow this business to 50% in next seven years. The company's strategy is to focus on the farm solutions and food products business.

Tata Group, which has its presence in real estate space did not invest in a big in manufacturing in Tamil Nadu, except for a plant for Titan, which has set up a manufacturing facility to manufacture personal accessories.

Tata Group's TATA Steel Limited was planning to invest around Rs. 2,000 crore to set up  a titanium dioxide (TiO2) plant, but the project never became reality for various reasons.