The chemical manufacturing sector is undergoing a paradigm shift, driven by the convergence of digital transformation and industrial automation. Facing pressures to enhance efficiency, reduce emissions, and ensure safer operations, chemical producers are rapidly integrating technologies such as AI, IoT, advanced analytics, and digital twins into core processes.

Leading industry experts discussed the various aspects of smart manufacturing within the chemical industry at the first session, 'Digital Transformation & Automation in Chemical Manufacturing’ at the maiden edition of Chem & Petchem Conference 2025 organized by the Indian Chemical News on May 07-10, 2025 at Baruch in Gujarat.

The session was moderated by Pravin Prashant, Executive Editor, Indian Chemical News.

Kalimuddin, Vice President - Manufacturing Operations, ELANTAS Beck India

“We are a part of ALTANA, a speciality chemical company based in Germany with 25 units global market share of 55-60% in India and globally. From conventional softwares, we have shifted to SAP and analytical cloud based systems. All of our 80 ALTANA units are providing very good information in terms of minor and major incidents, ESG and carbon emission data on a single platform, at a single click. This helps you to plan and improvise besides helping in benchmarking. Another aspect that we cater to is crisis management. We have two units, one at Ankleshwar and another in Pune besides the third one coming up in Dahej. In both the units, we have a crisis manufacturing room where all the data including MSDS is available and if there is any crisis, one can quickly go to the room and start addressing the issue. We also have Fact 24 or F24, a multimedia software that alerts you in case of any incidents. It also has a feature where we can choose to inform the specific people that need to be informed urgently. We will be implementing it shortly in our plants. Third one is Digital ISO system and process safety management where we have Intel Quest that offers all the information related to ISO documentation during audits.”

Sachin Srivastava, Vice President & Head - Operation Excellence, DFPCL 

"Before beginning the digital journey, we look at the outsiders’ perspective. Two years back we started the digital maturity assessment of all the value chain assets and other aspects to get a fair idea on strengths and gaps. We found a lot of gaps and pain points including process improvement areas. We also did a benefit analysis to find financial gaps. Once we completed it, we charted a strong roadmap with fixed KPIs along with objectives to maximise the throughput and improve the process. We have to define the solution charter as well as the right vendor and right technology. Once we are done with it then we come up with a roadmap. Firstly, we focused on infrastructure and then in terms of skill development, we established a digital 4.0 academy.  Then we connected all the shop floors with a digital system. We went in a systematic way rather than going in bits and pieces. We need to map all the systems and complete the value chain. And our roadmap is loaded with high ROI and how quickly we offer the benefits.”

Dhruval Khamar, Principal Lead, Digital Business & Strategy, Forbes Marshall 

“We have been promoting sustainability since our inception 78 years ago. While promoting energy efficiency and process enhancement has been our focus area, digitalisation has only empowered it further on the speed also. We have three pillars at the Forbes Marshall, first being Connected Assets wherein we provide IoT connectivity with our every product. Second is Connect the Insights where without domain knowledge comes into picture as without domain knowledge data cannot be accessed and without data domain expertise cannot be scaled. Third is Connecting People where we connect with the plant team and from there with technical staff. With these three, we have become the digital partner with customers. There are many other aspects, first being the fact that in terms of the cost of manufacturing chemicals by industry, 25-30% is standalone of utility and it is the only part we can control as we have no control over other aspects such as manpower, labour and consumables. In terms of sustainability, all the companies have the mandate to become net zero. With respect to digitalisation, once we have a benchmark plant, it’s not the final stage as it would need continuous data and real time partnership.”

Mangesh Nawarange, Sales Director – Digital, Energy Industries, Process Automation, ABB India

“We have been at the forefront of technology and have implemented many sustainability technologies globally. All our office buildings in India are sustainability certified. We believe in social progress, use of planetary resources and doing business in our sustainable way. The electronics in our equipment are used from recycled materials. In terms of defining digitalisation, it is the journey from automation to autonomous through use of technologies. Our motto is to simplify things for our customers. As per reports, 73% of data is not usable for any analysis though there is data from sensors, manual recording and other forms that industry is looking at using for solving the business problems. When we say smart factories, it means connecting factories with the shop floor and how we exchange the data . In terms of challenges, silos are the biggest challenge as utilities and processes are separate and so is the age of plants. These silos act as barriers in sharing the data from one direction to another. Therefore, the integration of data is critical to actually solve the business challenges.  For example, we helped a client with unconnected 250 PLCs. That is the magnitude of the problem and once you connect the day you can come up with a solution.”

Raj Shah, CEO, Coherent Market Insights

“While we have been providing a spectrum of consulting services to the chemical industry for a long time, about three years back we have also ventured into the digital transformation side as well. That is the time when Generative AI was coming into the picture and we actually found a niche with many companies facing issues with their manufacturing set up. As an example, we recently had a client with a lot of unscheduled downtime and other pain points related to safety and compliances. Since this industry is also shifting from manual to automation and digital to address their manufacturing processes and other aspects, this client was looking at a collective solution. We discussed the gaps with them and then came up with technological solutions such as DCS system and Analytical AI dashboard besides implementing predictive AI tools to identify the maintenance failures and unprecedented shutdowns of control systems and machinery. This helped them save millions of dollars. That’s how we shifted from being a strategic consulting company to a digital transformation company.”

The conference was supported by Academia partner - Somaiya Vidyavihar University; Platinum partners - PremierTech Systems & Automation, ABB India, and Netradyne; Gold partners - Tvarit GmbH (Germany), SNF Flopam India, Alleima India, AMETEK Land Instruments International, BEIL, UPL University of Sustainable Technology, Forbes Marshall, Utthunga, Graphite India, Thermax, Gem Machinery & Allied Industries and Thermax; Associate partners - Diyani Automation, Flaminia Ecarb India, LAPP India, Goodrich Gasket, and GD Waldner; Industry Association partners - Gujarat Chemical Association (GCA), Jhagadia Industries Association (JIA), Dahej Industries Association (DIA) and Alkali Manufacturers Association of India (AMAI).