Lubrizol aims to make in India, for the world

“For now, what we make in India is local for local. I can absolutely see in the future, as we look to continue to build our capabilities, to produce in India for the export market as well… We see tremendous capabilities in IT, finance, HR, engineering and capital. We are actively sourcing centres of excellence for many of those functions we think we could leverage from India, for India, and also for the rest of world.” Liebert said in an interview.

Elaborating on the opportunities India offers beyond the sectors where the company currently has a presence, Liebert said Lubrizol is working on expanding its footprint in electric vehicles, future mobility, health beauty, and home space.

As part of its Indian operations, Lubrizol has a joint venture with Indian Oil Corp. to make chemical additives for lubricants, wherein it initially had 50%, but picked up another 26% in 2017. Liebert said the company doesn’t plan to further raise its stake in the JV.

Since its India entry in 1966, it will be the single largest investment by Lubrizol in the country, she said. The investment will be used to start construction of a chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) resin plant in Gujarat’s Vilayat, double the capacity of its Dahej unit, besides opening a grease laboratory at Navi Mumbai, the company said.

Lubrizol and Aditya Birla Group flagship Grasim Industries Ltd, will start the first phase of a 100,000-metric-tonne state-of-the-art CPVC resin plant at Grasim’s site in Vilayat later this year. It will be the largest single-site capacity for CPVC resin production globally, it added.

The company will also be doubling its existing CPVC capacity at Dahej to 140,000 MT.

Lubrizol also plans to set up a research and development centre, its second largest global R&D centre after North America, the company said.

While Lubrizol will invest $150 million, its Indian partners will provide land and other assets for the facility, Liebert said.

When asked about the ‘list of demands’ that the company would present to a delegation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the US this week, Liebert said she would thank the delegation for all the development work around infrastructure in India.

“I have been visiting India for long now, and the infrastructure development India has seen has been a positive, which will help attract more investments,” she said.

PM Modi is set to leave for a state visit to the US on 21 June, at the invitation of President Joe Biden. Modi is scheduled to hold meetings with the US government and industry representatives.

Updated: 18 Jun 2023, 10:02 PM IST