DSM to set up $20 mn plant

DSM Engineering Plastics, major global supplier of high performance thermoplastics, will invest $20 million (approximately Rs 90 crore) to set up a greenfield plant at Ranjangaon, 60 km from here.

The $11-billion Dutch giant has been present in India through a contract manufacturing unit since 1998, when it took over the engineering plastics business of Century Enka.

The new plant, expected to be operational in early 2008, will manufacture 20,000 tonne of engineering plastics which are used in making key moulded components for automotive, electrical and electronics, consumer as well as industrial segments, Roelof Westerbeek, president (Asia Pacific) of DSM, told the media on Thursday.

DSM India has among its customers companies like Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Hyundai, Suzuki and Honda Scooters. On the electrical side, it has customers like Siemens, L&T, Havell, GE Power Controls and Schneider Electric.

The company's revenues are expected to double from $150 million now to $ 300 million by the year 2010, Westerbeek said. The incremental revenues would be primarily due to expansion in India's automotive sector, he added.

"The engineering plastics market in India has seen an acceleration in growth in recent years, resulting from investments that took place in the automotive and electrical markets," he said.