Blue pigment player Asahi Songwon Colors Ltd has commenced commercial operations at its Dahej plant, which was set up under Asahi Tennants Color, a joint venture with Tennants Textile Colours Ltd (TTC) of the UK.

Set up at the cost of ₹82 crore, the at Dahej in South Gujarat will make red and yellow pigments. The installed capacity of the AZO pigment plant is 2,400 tonnes per annum.

Ahead of schedule

Arjun Jaykrishna, Executive Director, Asahi Songwon Colors, commented on the development: “In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have successfully commissioned the plant on December 14 — four months before the original target date. We are going to work towards full capacity utilisation at the plant, and aim to double capacity by 2022.”

The JV, where 51 per cent is held by Asahi and 49 per cent by TTC, was announced on October 22, 2019, and the ground breaking ceremony of the plant was performed on December 12, 2019. The expected date of commissioning was March 2021.

Expanded presence

The Dahej plant will enable Asahi to extend its global pigment presence — currently dominant in the phthalocyanine pigment space — to the full range of colours.

The Group’s CEO Gokul Jaykrishna said: “The commencement of operations of the JV gives Asahi the perfect launching pad to widen its presence as a leading global supplier of pigments, and make a mark in the AZO pigment space.”

Asahi’s color pigment products have applications across ink, paints, plastics, textiles and paper industries. It has its principal manufacturing facility at Padra in Vadodara.

The JV partner TTC is one of the leading UK-based colour manufacturers, started in 1797 and producing a wide range of colour dispersions (water and solvent base).

Asahi Songwon Colors shares ended 3.63 per cent up at ₹244.30 on the NSE on Monday.