Long term commitment to the Indian market

Vadodara/India, January 28, 2014 - Roechling Engineering Plastics (India) Pvt. Ltd. inaugurated its first manufacturing plant for thermoplastics in Savli, Vadodara District, Gujarat. While the globally acting Röchling Group, based in Mannheim/Germany, has been active in India through its wholly owned subsidiary for more than a decade in trading and specialised CNC machining services for the Chemical, Power, Mechanical Engineering and Wind Energy Industries, the opening of the Vadodara plant signifies Röchling’s long term commitment to the Indian market and industry.

In a function attended by its leading customers, distributors, clients and well-wishers, Ludger Bartels, COO of the Röchling Group cut the ribbon and inaugurated the factory and office complex. Georg Duffner, CEO of the Röchling Group, unveiled the foundation stone. The ceremonial lamp (Diya) was lit by Bernhard Steinrücke, the Director General of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. He said that “It is a wise move of the Roechling group to expand its Thermoplastics production to India. India is one of the fastest growing markets in the world and this market has an almost unlimited potential. On top of it, India is becoming more and more attractive as a production hub for exports due to its high quality standards and its very competitive pricing environment.” He pointed out: “Therefore I am sure the Roechling Thermoplastics production facility in Vadodara will be a win-win for the clients in India and globally, for the Röchling Group.”

Future expansions are already planned

Speaking at the event, Manoj Kumar, Managing Director, in his welcome statement, announced: “Röchling plans to produce approximately 1,000 tons of engineering plastics in India in the year 2014 and future expansions are already planned”. He expects the employee strength of 40 to increase to 65 within this year. Working closely with its suppliers and clients, Röchling generates employment for at least 100 more people in different parts of India.

Manish More, Sales Director -Thermoplastics informed the sizeable gathering that the Plastics Industry in India grew by 13 per cent annually in last five years and expects to continue double-digit growth beyond 2016 - 2017. With the investment Röchling intends to support this growth with its high quality, competitive products.

Active in India since 1998

Röchling had entered India in 1998 with a Liaison Office in Mumbai. In 2003, it received the FDI Approval from the Ministry of Finance to invest into India as a Private Limited Company, to set up manufacturing and carry stock in India to support the rising demands from Indian customers for their industrial projects.

In 2007, Röchling set up in Vasai, near Mumbai, a modern CNC machining facility for its flagship product Lignostone®, a wood based high performance insulation material for high voltage transformers. Meeting with a high level of success with this venture, in 2010 Röchling Vasai extended machining services for its Thermoplastics customers as well.

Commitment to the Indian market

Having achieved high levels of growth in all spheres of its activity, Röchling’s products have become the highest benchmark for quality in products of similar category. It is with this background that the Management Board of Röchling approved the proposal from its Indian subsidiary to acquire a 35,000 sq.m plot of land in the Gujarat State-run Industrial Complex, GIDC Savli, in Vadodara District of Gujarat.

Construction of the new plant began in November 2012 and was completed in October 2013. Modern machines were imported from Germany and installed during this period. Manufacture of sheets and profiles of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene and its variants, sheets and rods of Polyacetal (POM), Polyamides (PA6) and their variants commenced in the end of 2013.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Ludger Bartels, COO, confirmed: ”Röchling has a strong believe in the future growth of the Indian economy. With our new plant in Vadodara we bring our expertise in polymer engineering, world-class quality products, machinery and production systems, raw materials and standards to the Indian marketplace that we follow in our factories across the globe.”

Indian Plastics Industry

Currently the Indian plastics market is poised to grow at 14 per cent per annum which is almost twice that of the GDP growth of India. Even with a three-fold growth in the last decade, at 9.2 kg per capita consumption, the current Indian market is far behind the average global consumption leaving a huge opportunity for growth for plastics manufacturers, stockists, distributors, and product developers.