BASF Catalysts India Private Ltd. (BASF Catalysts) has inaugurated its new mobile emissions catalysts manufacturing site that includes a new 47,000-square-meter production plant, replacing an existing BASF plant in Chennai, culminating a three-year expansion project, which has doubled the company’s catalyst manufacturing capacity in India.
World-class manufacturing lines are housed in the new plant, producing a full range of catalyst solutions, including light duty, heavy duty and motorcycle emissions catalysts to meet growing market demand and customer technology needs. The site produces BASF EMPRO (TM) emissions control solutions including the Three-Way Catalyst (TWC), Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC), Catalyzed Soot Filter (CSF) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Catalyst.
“Around the Asia Pacific region, and especially here in India, mobility is ever more important. At the same time, more and more vehicles are being manufactured locally in India. To meet the demands of this growth, according to BASF’s Asia Pacific strategy and in support of ‘Make in India’ and other Government initiatives, we are expanding our local production network in the region,” said Sanjeev Gandhi, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE responsible for Asia Pacific.
“With the expansion of our manufacturing capacity and capabilities in Chennai, BASF Catalysts is better positioned to respond to the increase in demand for advanced emissions control solutions in India. It will also help our customers meet increasingly stringent requirements such as the Indian Government’s decision to advance from BS-IV emissions norms to BS-VI norms by 2020,” said Dirk Demuth, Senior Vice President, Mobile Emissions Catalysts, BASF. “Furthermore, the new site will produce advanced heavy duty emissions catalysts, which will allow us to better serve the fast-growing automotive markets in India,” he added.
“With initiatives like Make in India, Smart Cities, and Swachh Bharat, India is in the forefront of rapid and sustainable development. This offers significant opportunities for the chemical industry as well as BASF. We are investing actively in India to realize these opportunities. The expansion of our mobile emissions catalysts plant in Chennai is another example of our continued focus on investing in assets for growth,” said Raman Ramachandran, Head of BASF operations in South Asia. “Through its local subsidiaries BASF India Ltd., BASF Chemicals India Private Ltd. and BASF Catalysts India Private Ltd., the BASF Group has invested approximately €300 million, over the past four years, in manufacturing and Research and Development,” he added.