Our Bureau

Chennai , Feb. 19

WITH the demand for hydrogen peroxide likely to increase, Asian Peroxides Ltd is planning to increase its production capacity.

The Executive Director, Mr R.P. Sethi, told presspersons here on Saturday that the company is looking to increase its output to about 25,000 tonnes a year in 2006 from the present 18,000 tonnes. Its present output is 3,000 tonnes more than the plant's rated capacity and is achieved through debottlenecking. "Add on a few more balancing equipment and we are set to increase output by another 7,000 tonnes,'' he said.

The Managing Director, Mr Shiv K. Dewan, said that the addition is going to come from small investments made in an existing plant. "The hydrogen peroxide manufacturing business is a capital intensive one and if you can make more of the stuff at lesser cost the advantages are self evident,'' he said.

Hydrogen peroxide is an environmentally benign fluid that can be used in bleaching, oxidising, sterilising and effluent treatment.

The raw material is naphtha and it accounts for about 30 per cent of the production cost but there is nothing that the company can do about it. So it keeps its other costs under control. The additional production is going to come with investments of about Rs 30 crore compared to the thumb rule of about Rs 8.5 crore for every tonne if a new facility has to come up, he said.

All the other manufacturers are also stepping up production in anticipation of the expected increase in demand for hydrogen peroxide. With the increase in production expected from next year, Asian Peroxides would be among the largest manufacturers in the domestic market.

The company, which has its production facilities near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, expects to conclude the current year with a turnover of about Rs 75 crore with exports accounting for about Rs 9 crore.

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