Dharamsi Morarji Chemical Company Limited (DMCC) is planning to invest about Rs. 90 crore for ramping up its volumes and expansion capacities at Dahej facility in Gujarat.

The key drivers for strategic capacity expansions by the Mumbai headquartered company are the rising demand and the dynamic needs of its existing and potential customers.

As a fully integrated speciality chemicals player in Sulphur, Boron and Ethanol chemistry, DMCC invested Rs. 70 crore during FY22. The company invested Rs. 10 crore for the project on de-bottlenecking at Roha facility in Maharashtra. For its multipurpose plants at Dahej facility, it again invested Rs. 10 crore. With the commercial production already on at the sites, the volumes are expected to further ramp up in the fourth quarter of FY22.

Going forward, DMCC will be investing Rs. 50 crore for adding incremental capacity in the bulk chemicals segment at Dahej facility. While the commercial production has started, the company expects to ramp up the production to optimum utilizations by the end of first quarter of FY23.

The company also aims to invest Rs. 20 crore in a dedicated specialty chemical plant at Dahej facility. The plant is expected to begin commercial production by the fourth quarter of FY22. The company will use this facility for manufacturing products under contract. The products to be manufactured and other details remain confidential as the company has signed an NDA.

For the intermediates plant at Dahej, DMCC plans to invest Rs. 20 crore for expansion to manufacture intermediates for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industry. This project is expected to complete by the first quarter of FY23. The company had earlier decided to invest this amount in Sulfones. However, with a downturn in the international markets for the product category, the plan has been put on hold.

Established in 1919, the DMCC with its focused R&D efforts over the period of time has commercialized its processes for downstream sulphur-based chemicals. What is visible now is a culmination of efforts by the entire team: sustainable performance with zero dependence on government policy, net foreign exchange earnings, and sales to over 25 countries in 5 continents.

In terms of revenue performance, DMCC recorded a strong growth in revenues in the third quarter of FY22 as the revenues increased by 72.19% to Rs. 81.48 crore as against Rs. 47.32 crore in the third quarter of FY21. The growth in revenues is attributable to higher realisations and moderate increase in volumes.

With a strong focus on R&D, the company is actively working to expand its product portfolio in the speciality chemicals segment. It envisages an operating margin of more than 30% and a payback period of no more than three years. With the commercialization of the bulk chemicals plant in Dahej and the upcoming phased expansions in specialty chemicals, the company is well positioned to deliver a strong performance in the times to come.