bl interview. Lubrizol Corp rides on India’s growth to boost revenues

Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is aiming to increase its presence in India with a $350 million investment in capacity expansion.

Leading this growth is Bhavana Bindra, who joined in March as the Managing Director of India, the Middle East and Africa.

“Today, where we are in terms of share of our global business is not enough,” Bindra told businessline.

In a recent media interaction, Lubrizol Corp’s President and CEO Rebecca Liebert said, she expects India’s share to double in the next five years.

Pointing to India’s growth trajectory and the aim to be the third largest economy, Bindra said that this would provide the opportunity for the company to have a much bigger presence in the global revenues of the company.

“To me these capacity additions are something which is like riding the wave of growth India is currently experiencing. Because when housing, real estate construction grows, we can see gains in our piping, automotive transportation, industrial and additives segments,” she added.

Last year, Lubrizol announced its biggest investment in India, amounting to $150 million.

This investment will fund the development of a CPVC resin plant in Vilayat, India, with a capacity of 1 lakh tonne, in parternship with Grasim Industries.

The project also includes doubling the capacity in Dahej and establishing a grease lab in Navi Mumbai. The manufacturing partnership with Grasim was set up in 2020.

In July of this year, the specialty chemicals makers signed an agreement with the government of Maharashtra to acquire a 120-acre plot in Aurangabad to set up a plant, with an initial investment of $200 million.

Once completed, the plant will be Lubrizol’s second-largest manufacturing facility globally and its largest in India.

Construction will progress in phases over the next several years with room for future expansion.

It has also established a Global Capability Centre in Pune, that would serve as a hub to boost its growth in the region while enabling closer collaboration with its customers.

Lubrizol has expanded in India through various partnerships and collaborations. One of its oldest partners in the country is Indian Oil Corporation, with whom Lubrizol has been working since its entry into India in 1966. Lubrizol now holds a majority stake in this joint venture.

Bindra further said, the company is open to more partnerships, as they would add to its value chain.

“We actively evaluate across the value chain on what those could be,” she said. Its venture with IOC started on the additives transportation and industrial space and expanded to treatment of fuels. In the case of Grasim it was for sourcing a key raw material.