The integrated specialty carbon corporation and the coal tar pitch producer Himadri Chemicals on Monday said that it is planning to invest Rs 1,900 crore for coal tar capacity expansion and foraying into new by-products like pitch coke, a senior company executive has said.
"We have lined up to invest Rs 1,200 crore for expanding our coal tar capacity to one million tonne by 2015, from the present 2.5 lakh tonne in phases. We are also looking to invest Rs 700 crore to add new by-products to our current portfolio," Himadri Chemicals and Industries CEO Anurag Choudhary said.
This funding will be done in a phased manner, partly through internal accrual and partly through debt, he added.
"In the first phase, the capacity will be increased to four lakh tonne by December this year," he said.
At present, the West Bengal-based company manufactures eight by-products, with different applications used in aluminium, rubber, dye and intermediaries, batteries and pipelines among others.
The company is planning to set up a green field manufacturing unit to produce pitch coke in Hoogly in West Bengal in next three years with an investment of Rs 700 crore with a capacity of 50,000 tonne, he said adding that the funding will be done through internal accrual and debt.
Pitch coke is used as a basic raw material for electrode industry.
The company, he said, is setting up an advanced carbon material unit in Falta in West Bengal with a 10,000 tonne capacity by 2015.
"We are expecting to produce 300 tonne of advanced carbon material from our Falta unit by December this year and expand it to 10,000 tonne by 2015," he added.
Himadri Chemicals is also working on setting up a green field plant to produce carbon fibre, which is used in high technology aircraft, etc.
"We are still mulling over it and will soon take a decision on it," he added.
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