“India will get a fair share of BASF’s €3 billion investments planned pan-Asia over the next five years,” says Sanjeev Gandhi, Member, Board of Executive Directors of the German multinational.
Globally, the €60-billion Group has charted out capital expenditure plans of about €19 billion up to 2021.
The proposed investments in India spanning diverse sector in which the Group has a presence will be led by products for application in automobile, infrastructure, construction, agriculture, pharmaceutical and leather sectors.
As of now, a lot of business in India is based on products made elsewhere. “We wish to slowly and steadily increase manufacturing in India,” he said.
Global R&D Apart from manufacturing, the Group is keen on building its R&D and innovation centre. Tomorrow, at Mumbai, he will inaugurate a global research and development centre, BASF’s second after Shanghai.
The India centre will focus on process research, technology development, life science, including agro chemicals, products for home care, human care and pharmaceuticals, he said.
At peak, this campus will have 300 scientists. “We start with something like a 100 people and slowly year-on-year increase as we need to train them,” he said.
Product launch Gandhi said over the next four years it will launch over 250 new products in the Asia-Pacific with 25 in India. These are in the process of registration and approvals.
Gandhi, a core member of the global management, and first Asian on the Board responsible for the operations in Greater China, Asia Pacific and ANZ, was in Chennai today for the inauguration of BASF Catalysts’ expanded production facility to double its manufacturing capacity. It will produce light duty and heavy duty and motorcycle emission control catalysts to meet BS IV and BS VI norms.
He said the “exciting sector is the automotive industry with the catalyst emission expansion coming after 1998.”
This new capacity will be filled fast and BASF will go for future expansions here because there is room for expansion.
“Our forecast is that India will be third largest automotive producer in the world by 2020 after China and the US and before Japan and Europe. This is an exciting market for us,” he said.
“Also we have products for industries in renewable energy, clean air and water. The government is driving regulations and expect to see more in India. We will start to make these products,” he added.