Aditya Birla Group to invest $50 mn in manufacturing, R&D centre in Texas

Aditya Birla Group has announced an investment of $ 50 million in a manufacturing and research and development (R&D) center in Texas.

Aditya Birla Group's Vice President of Sales and Marketing Scott Bastion said the company will be making a $ 50-million investment outside of Houston in the city of Beaumont, Texas, where it will produce epoxy resins -- that are used in a variety of consumer and industrial products.

"In that site, we will have an application development center and will house an R&D team. We look forward to commissioning that site in the next 15 to 20 months. In addition to that, we look forward to bringing greener solutions, sustainable solutions, and more importantly, being able to serve as well as expand the global footprint of our epoxy business," Bastion said.

Aditya Birla Group already has a foundation in India, Thailand, as well as Europe. "This will be the fourth expansion on behalf of the epoxy business into the USA. This is the first phase of our expansion of a 35-acre site, which we hope to have additional phases in coming years," he said.

The initial approximately $50 million investment will build a state-of-the-art advanced materials site that will develop and manufacture customized specialty products and epoxy solutions for the US market. The company has acquired 35 acres of land in Beaumont, Texas – strategically located on the US Gulf Coast near major energy and materials providers – to launch the first phase of this project. The investment will be done by Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Ltd, through its wholly owned subsidiary in the USA, Aditya Birla Chemicals (USA) Inc.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said, “The development of a new chemicals facility represents a significant expansion of our ambitions in the Americas and a continuation of our strategy to apply our deep manufacturing expertise in new markets. As we continue to grow our presence in the U.S., our investment will support the revitalization of the growing American manufacturing sector and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the customers and communities we serve across the country.”

Aditya Birla Group has invested more than $15 billion in American businesses, becoming the largest Indian investor in the United States. The new facility will further the Advanced Materials business’ leadership in epoxy products, which includes leading manufacturing and R&D centers in Thailand, India and Germany that serve customers in over 65 countries. 

Arun Venkataraman, the assistant secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and director general of the US and Foreign Commercial Service said Aditya Birla Group's plans to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing and R&D center in Texas is a "testament to America's commitment to attracting the most innovative businesses."

"Aditya Birla Group's foresight in ensuring that their manufacturing facility brings greener, more sustainable and performance-oriented solutions underscore exactly what corporate environmental responsibility is. Consumers continue to seek out ecofriendly options and we look forward to seeing Aditya Birla Group become a local leader in the greenification of the epoxy industry," Venkataraman said on the sidelines of the Select USA Summit which is being attended by more than 250 businesses from India.