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Interview with Mr. Jose Mohan, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Government of India

January 07, 2021

Interview with Mr. Jose Mohan, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Government of India

Understanding the business applications upfront is the key for success: Dr. Pratap Nair, President & CEO, Ingenero Technologies (India)

January 06, 2021

Understanding the business applications upfront is the key for success: Dr. Pratap Nair, President & CEO, Ingenero Technologies (India)

Dr. Pratap Nair, President & CEO, Ingenero Technologies (India) Limited spoke exclusively to Rahul Koul, Associate Editor, Indian Chemical News on data analytics market trends and related solutions from the company besides wide range of products offerings for decision engineering, steam management, heat integration, digital twins, anomaly detection and improvement. Excerpts of the interview:


How big is the data analytics market in India and globally, especially in the context of the chemical sector?
India is currently among the top four big data analytics markets in the world and NASSCOM has set a target of making the country one among the top three markets in the next three years. The data analytics market in India is currently valued at US $2 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 26 percent, reaching approximately US $16 billion by 2025, making India’s share approximately 32 percent in the overall global market, including exports.

While India’s analytics market though majorly dominated by BFSI, marketing and e-commerce sector, the chemical industry is not far behind with cumulative contribution from pharma, FMCG and energy of 22% of the total revenue generated. Globally, the data analytics market is about US $20 billion and estimated to grow to US $68 billion by 2025, up at a CAGR of 28.9%.

Role of Ingenero Technologies in providing data analytics solutions to the chemical industry?
Ingenero has been providing Advanced Analytics as a service to chemical industry manufacturers globally, since 2001, through Ingenero’s Intelligent Process Operations Guidance (IPOG). Advanced Analytics based on applying first principles fundamental analytics combined with statistical techniques like AI/ML (artificial intelligence and machine learning) to live and historical data from the manufacturing facility, is regularly used by Ingenero to provide continuous support to chemical manufacturers in the USA, Middle East, Europe and Asia Pacific, with the help of a remote team, from the technology center in Mumbai. The objective is to help improve production, efficiencies and safety while better adhering to regulatory compliances.

Automated analytics solutions that were developed over time, to execute IPOG projects, gave Ingenero a jump start to being able to successfully deploy software solutions, as part of the digitalization initiatives over the past six years. Ingenero typically deploys data Analytics solutions on a Build-Operate-Transfer model and implements both on-premise and cloud deployment versions, based upon client requirements.

Clients that are availing your data analytics solutions globally and how are they benefiting from the solutions?
Ingenero is currently in discussions with clients in India on deploying Advanced Analytics solutions as part of digitalization initiatives, most of the continuous applications have been global with companies like Chevron Phillips, SABIC, Sasol, Total, DCP, to name a few.

A facility for Long-Chain Alcohols production in Louisiana, USA was able to enhance capacity by 30% without CAPEX, improve first-pass quality by 11% and stop external tolling, through the continuous use of Ingenero’s advanced analytics on their operations data.

An Integrated chemicals company in Belgium was able to develop a strategy and execute it, using Ingenero’s corporate decision support digital twin model covering all of their facilities, thereby hiving certain businesses at Euro 110 million and growing to Euro 400 million quickly after turning profitable.

Two Ethylene facilities in the Middle East of a major US Petrochemical major were able to improve yield, plant availability, throughput and efficiency, saving US $250 mn over a five-year period, through the utilization of Ingenero’s Hybrid Digital Twin using fundamental models and Machine Learning along with remote tracking.

A midstream company in the USA, operating the largest NGL pipeline network in the USA, was able to increase profitability by 22%, using Ingenero’s Digital Twin deployed over 40 facilities, providing centralized asset visibility, allowing a systematized identification and prioritization of process requirements and optimization capabilities.

In the Indian context, who are the clients that have availed your data analytics solutions and how have they benefited?
In the Indian market, other than Cairn India, Ingenero has mainly worked on snapshot static engineering design analysis, performance improvement consulting, and troubleshooting analysis with companies like BPCL, HPCL, MRPL, Nayara, RIL, Sun Pharma, Pidilite, Vinati Organics, Jubilant Life Sciences, Aarti Chemical, Mangalam Organics, Deepak Fertilizers, etc.

Ingenero has helped minimize Ethylene losses in a process at a Petrochemical facility in India, addressing cyclic Ethylene use and batch process challenges that the manufacturer was facing through concept development and follow through cost-effective engineering and implementation, providing an annual savings of US$ 650,000. 1.5 tons per day of Ethylene loss was reduced to 100 kgs/day. A pacesetter audit for optimization of crude, overall operational philosophy, power plant operations analysis, shutdown analysis helped a 15 MMTPA Refinery in India identify 2.3 US$/bbl of potential GRM improvement.

Analysis of past operations data, F&L reports and SOPs for a 7.5 MMTPA refinery in Mumbai, helped identify 0.6% un-identified losses.
Continuous proactive operations data analysis and decision support for an Oil & Gas producer in India (150,000 BOPD oil production facility asset sites), helped enhance asset availability and achieve US$ 6.5 million savings through the determination of root causes and suggested remedies for off-spec production that were leading to quality issues and lost profit. Pinch analysis of the Phenol, Cumene and OSBL units of a Petrochemical facility in Mumbai, helped optimize utility consumption, lowering steam consumption and realizing 14 MW energy savings.

How is your key product, Intelligent Software Solution for Process Decision Excellence (I-SSPDE) helping in digital transformation?
Having worked with a few of the early adopters of the digital transformation initiative and also have seen mixed results from other initiatives in the market around us, we have learned along with our clients in the chemical process industry, that the key to success and extract benefits from digitalization initiatives is to clearly understand the business applications or use cases upfront for the Industry 4.0 implementations.

The business applications to focus on, the relevant IIoT data necessary, whom to connect with what, who all collaborate, the dashboards, the type of information and how it is processed and analyzed, where streaming data is required and where batch data is better, cloud computing vs on-premise vs hybrid, etc. are important aspects that are handled by the “Decision Engineering” process. Decision Engineering requires a coherent team with domain experts in chemical process manufacturing, first principles modelers, data science specialists and software engineers. It helps convert technology tools to solutions that directly address use cases for manufacturers, providing them with Augmented Intelligence and insights, to be able to make faster, more timely and quality decisions (whether operations, planning or scheduling) based on data rather than intuition alone.

I-SSPDE is a package of solutions for chemical process manufacturing that has Advanced Analytics algorithms at its core, carefully tailor made, with in-built intelligence, for the chemical process industry, connected to IIoT sensors, historians, databases and providing intuitive visualization of the predictions and prescriptions. It is typically deployed on a Build, Operate and Transfer mode. It is utilized to improve asset reliability, optimize operations and planning and better comply with safety, environment and sustainability parameters.

Info on Ingenero’s solution with respect to heat integration? Clients who are availing this facility?
The heat integration solution is a combination of a Digital Twin model based on first principles tuned to existing plant data, to mirror the plant behavior. This is then utilized to analyze using Pinch and other engineering analysis to see whether there are possibilities for better integration between the process and utility with respect to matching heat generation and heat consumption, to save energy usage. The analysis also includes a review of what it will cost to do the heat integration versus the savings.

Some of the clients who have availed this from Ingenero in the recent past: HPCL, Mumbai Refinery; BP Petrochemical facility in Alabama, USA; LAB facility and utility networks at Farabi Petrochemicals, Jubail, KSA; Saudi Chevron, Jubail, KSA; Deepak Phenolics, Mumbai.

How is Ingenero helping companies in steam management and clients who are availing this facility?
Steam management is a direct application and use of the Digital Twin models that optimize steam usage when viewed in conjunction with the main process performance. This has been an application utilized in most of the sites where Ingenero has provided Advanced analytics as a service or a software solution. Westlake, Lake Charles, USA; RLOC, Qatar; SABIC, KSA are cases in point.

Solutions offered by the company with respect to digital twins and clients who are availing this facility?
A Digital Twin is a digital replica of the physical manufacturing facility or the performance characteristics of the facility, whereby the behaviour of the facility or the physical facility itself can be mimicked by the computer program or visualized on the computer. The Digital twin mirrors the operation and what-if scenarios can be run offline, predicting the impact of a change, without disturbing the operation, before implementing a change in the operation. The type of Digital twin model depends on the application for which it will be used.
Ingenero specializes in Digital twin models that mimic the performance of the manufacturing facility and is able to track, predict, and prescribe, for improved Asset and equipment Reliability, Production, efficiency. These models are based on a combination of first-principles models and AI/ML models, with data from the manufacturing operations being the key input.

This has been availed by several of our clients in the USA and the Middle East, as mentioned in an earlier answer, for continuous advanced analytics applications. Cairn India uses it for continuous application and such types of models have also been used offline by Ingenero to provide engineering analysis services indicated in earlier answers, to refiners and chemical plants in India.

Ingenero’s solutions with respect to anomaly detection and improvement and clients which are availing this facility?
Automatic anomaly detection is a solution that utilizes Machine Learning models that have been trained on relevant data from the history of the equipment or sections of the manufacturing process and then used to predict the process or equipment behavior, to detect anomalous operation early. The early warning helps find and fix a problem before the problem finds you. To minimize false positives, the model has to be instilled with intelligence from fundamental models, instead of just the data.

These models are self-learning and adaptive in nature. This is a solution that Ingenero has been using internally to provide the IPOG service to several customers in the USA and the Middle East and has now deployed it as an automated solution for Chevron Phillips, Phillips 66, Westlake, to name a few.

We aim to produce 100 mn litres of ethanol in next two years : Samir Somaiya, CMD, Godavari Biorefineries Ltd

January 04, 2021

We aim to produce 100 mn litres of ethanol in next two years : Samir Somaiya, CMD, Godavari Biorefineries Ltd

Digital Transformation is a key priority area for us, says R. S. Jalan, GHCL

December 29, 2020

Digital Transformation is a key priority area for us, says R. S. Jalan, GHCL

Hybrid models are a game changer in process engineering , says Sanjeev Mullick, VP – Sales, Asia Pacific and Japan, AspenTech

November 21, 2020

Hybrid models are a game changer in process engineering , says Sanjeev Mullick, VP – Sales, Asia Pacific and Japan, AspenTech

Sanjeev Mullick, Vice President - Sales, Asia Pacific and Japan, Aspen Technology spoke exclusively to Pravin Prashant, Editor, Indian Chemical News on Asset Optimization Software market, USP of aspenONE V12, level of customization with respect to Version 12 and India market strategy for Asset Optimization Software. Excerpts of the interview: 
 
Globally, how big is the market of asset optimization software and how big is it in India? What is the growth in asset optimization software?
The world global manufacturing capacity is about $14 trillion and it is estimated by the National Association of Manufacturers in the US that 10% of this global manufacturing capacity is lost due to unplanned downtime and other factors which is about $1.4 trillion. These modern software solutions, aid manufacturing and supply chains, they really have the potential of helping the world industry recover as much as that $1.4 trillion. In the end, you may not recover all of it but that gives you the size of the price that is out there.
 
Now, as far as Aspen Technology is concerned, we estimate that every year we are actually creating about $50 billion worth of value for customers through the use of our solutions. We believe that with greater digitalization, we could easily take it to much higher levels and some estimates are that this will add up to $200 billion worth of incremental value for our customers.
 
Out of $1.4 trillion that you are talking about how big is Asia Pacific? 
The $1.4 trillion total available market size is estimated by the National Association of Manufacturers in the US, so we wouldn’t have the exact breakdown on hand, for the Asia Pacific market. However, even within Asia Pacific, some countries may be better in terms of managing their assets and having better maintenance and less downtime. Others might still have more to improve. So, it will be somewhere in that plus minus 10% range.
 
You are calling it AOS (Asset Optimization Software). Nowadays, people say platform instead of software. Is it more of an Asset Optimization Platform or Asset Optimization Software? 
Yeah, that is a good point. If you look at all the software solutions we provide, the Industrial AI solutions, they are backed by a very, very thorough technology stack, which is based on the latest IT platforms. So yes, behind the scenes, we offer a complete platform. We have built our solutions on top of it for asset optimization, hence, we are actually a complete system. 
 
As I mentioned earlier, we are independent of any particular operating or hardware systems thus in that way, we are very agnostic in terms of sitting on top of whatever infrastructure our customers might have. So, you can say we are both a platform as well as the software. If the customer already has a certain platform, and they've invested in that we can sit on top of it or if the customer wants our complete platform and our solutions, we can bring that in as well.
 
You talked about customers already utilizing your different solutions can upgrade by going for aspenONE V12. But for those customers who have not yet deployed your product, how can they go about deploying asset optimization software platforms?
Worldwide, we have 25 plus offices to be closer to our customers. In terms of the existing customer, if they want to try out a new product out of our suite, we actually engage very deeply with our customers to understand the business problems and in a very consultative way, we help them understand how they can architect our solutions into their infrastructure and what kind of value they can get. But it all starts with understanding their priorities, their initiatives, their business problems, their manufacturing challenges. We can combine all the different technologies; we have to come up with a complete solution for them. We provide implementation services, as well as we have a whole network of partners there in India as well and other parts of Asia Pacific, where they help our customers implement and maintain and sustain these applications. So that's how I would say we go about helping our customers acquire our solutions and be successful with it. 
 
What level of customization can be done in the new version? 
I would like to use a different word. I don't like to use the word customization because what we offer is with each release, it's a packaged solution. We like to describe it as configuration, we configure our solutions to a customer's unique business needs. What that means is our solutions are very flexible. They can be configured, and we don't ever have to go back to the source code to do any customization.
 
So, we're not creating bespoke solutions for our customers but we give them standard solutions and what the benefit of that is, when the next release comes out, it's much easier for them to upgrade. You asked me when can customers in India use Version 12 and I said today, that's because if they're using a standard version, then upgrading them is a very straightforward path because we ensure that from one version to another, our customers can seamlessly upgrade.
 
Would you talk about some of the new features incorporated in aspenONE V12?  
Okay, so some of the new features that are really taking the world by storm is an area called Hybrid Modelling. One of the ways that I should also point out to you, the way AspenTech has been developing the solutions in the  past few years is, we have advisory boards, customer advisory boards, we have also something called the innovation club, where leading customers from around the world work with us to do all kinds of pre-release work, whether it is doing usability testing, whether it's doing beta testing. In the case of Hybrid Modelling, we had over 100 companies participate, it received a very enthusiastic response from all over the world, including India and other parts of Asia Pacific. The result was that they came up with all kinds of very interesting use cases, because AspenTech has always taken pride in the fact that we do a lot of first principles modelling, which is based on the physics and the chemistry and the engineering fundamentals and 40 years of domain expertise. 
 
There is always a class of business problems that is hard to model using first principles. A case in point would be, how do you model the colour of a chemical compound, depending upon some impurities or some other processing steps, the colour might be different from one batch to another, or from one set of conditions to another. However, using data-based models, and using Machine Learning (ML), you can model these kinds of unique attributes. What we have done today is that you can take all of those and develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI) model, and then embed that into your first principles simulator like Aspen Plus or Aspen HYSYS. So, in that form, we are enabling our customers to solve all sorts of new types of problems that in the past have escaped attention or have been hard to solve.
 
Hybrid models are a major step forward in bringing together AspenTech’s process models and ML and are a game changer in process engineering and plant improvement. 
 
We have also come out with many other features, for example, there is a concept called multi-case, where you can use a simulator to run thousands of runs and use them in ways to give you additional insights. We are also coming out with advances in cognitive guidance in planning, with this release we have already come out so customers can basically verify the validity of their plans for the refinery or the petrochemical plants that they have. 
 
So, these are some of the new advances that we have come out with which are very, very unique, and nobody else in the world has offered any solution of this kind which is why the customers said it's a game changer.
 
Does the solution cater to brownfield or is it only restricted to greenfield operations?
We serve the existing assets and the new assets, upstream refining petrochemicals further downstream, all the way to pharmaceuticals, which is now the need of the hour. You know, we have a lot of pharmaceutical companies who are using our software and we're beginning to see more and more uptake for that in places like India as well. So, we cover the whole range - Brownfield and Greenfield.
 
You are using almost a majority of in-depth technologies, which is artificial intelligence, high performance computing, cloud computing, 4.0, IoT and machine learning. So how do you convert these technologies to reduce the losses?  
One of the biggest drains of the industry is unplanned downtime. So, a piece of equipment or critical equipment has some kind of a degradation and it shuts down in an unannounced unplanned fashion. And it has two major impacts to the industry. One is, of course, when the machine is down, there is lost production. So that's a big financial impact, it hurts your supply chain, you may have orders to fulfil, but now you are not able to manufacture your product to fulfil that order. And the other impact is you have to, under the circumstances of unplanned downtime do emergency repairs, which are always more expensive than planned maintenance activities. So, in that fashion with our software, we are able to actually help our customers minimize or avoid downtime, because using machine learning algorithms, we pick up these early signs of future failures and we are able to warn or alert the customers.
 
They can actually then organize when they want to take that piece of equipment down for maintenance and avoid the supply chain shock that it creates, avoid the loss of production, they can inform the people who are scheduling the facility how to work around that constraint that may be emerging in the next few days. 
 
The other example and I will elaborate is - if you look at advanced process control, we are helping our customers run their plants in a more stable fashion, produce products of quality with the correct yields and minimize emissions. In fact, we have customers in India, BPCL for example.
 
Sox emissions, and their success story has been published and they have been able to reduce their Sulphur Sox emissions by a very significant amount. For example, at BPCL Kochi Refinery with the introduction of dynamic limits regulated, it is necessary to move emission limits close to the operating value of units. The environmental team created a refinery-wide emission model via the use of Aspen HYSYS; Aspen Online; Aspen InfoPlus.21 and aspenONE V12 Process Explorer. A key outcome includes improving margins by reducing emissions. For example, in the refining industry based on typical energy consumption, a 1% improvement in thermal efficiency translates into energy savings of $600,000 per year.
 
So those are the kinds of things we are helping our customers, be compliant, be better stewards of the environment, if you will, while actually increasing the profitability.
 
How many man hours did it take for aspenONE V12 software to become commercial?
I don't know whether I can put a dollar number or man hours to it. All I can say is, we have a very large R&D organization and a significant percentage of our annual revenues in double digits is rolled back into R&D. So, I would say it's in millions of dollars of annual R&D expense with hundreds of very specialized scientists and engineers with very high qualifications working on this, all domain experts in their fields. 
 
So, yes, it is a significant effort, and we are very proud of what we do for the process industry worldwide, the chemical industry including those in India. 
 
Do you also do some software development in India or is it completely US based software development that you do?
Our software development centres are in the US but what we do out of India is provide a lot of implementation services and support services to our customers worldwide.
 
And how big is the team in India?
It ranges from 35 to 40 people and includes support services, solution consultants and sales team.
 
With respect to the Asia Pacific and the Indian market, how do you look at the India market post COVID-19 with respect to asset optimization software? 
I think the COVID-19 pandemic has been an eye opener for pretty much everybody in the world. And one of the things is that companies have already embarked on their digitalization journeys and have fared better during the pandemic. Work from home is an example - companies that had already started using cloud computing, had already enabled people to work in distributed teams, they were actually able to, with very little hiccup, transition to work from home. 
 
Another example, I would like to quote is companies that had started looking at more modern ways of planning and scheduling their facilities - what they found was that when global supply chains were disrupted, for example, supply of a certain raw material that you might be getting from another part of the world was disrupted because that manufacturing facility or that port was no longer functioning. That whole concept of ‘just in time’ manufacturing was upset. So, customers who could quickly reposition themselves in terms of where to source the raw materials from how to schedule that distribution, or raw material acquisition as well as scheduling the plants, they actually fared better.
 
So, post the pandemic I think the lesson learned by companies in India and the rest of the world is that they will be better off and better prepared for future events such as this by embracing more digitalization and more automation.

Chemical industry has always been a consistent value creator: Rahul Tikoo, MD – South Asia, Huntsman

November 09, 2020

Chemical industry has always been a consistent value creator: Rahul Tikoo, MD – South Asia, Huntsman

Rahul Tikoo, Managing Director – South Asia, Huntsman Corporation spoke exclusively to Pravin Prashant, Editor, Indian Chemical News on the impact of COVID-19, Capex plan, South Asian market for Polyurethane business, manpower intake in development centre, growth potential in India and South Asia, company's preparation for EV onslaught and CSR activities. Excerpts of the interview:   
 
How has lockdown impacted your industry and what has your company done when things were unlocked?
COVID-19 has impacted our industry, much like every other sector. However, we are glad that we are not reliant on a specific industry, and our exposure across value systems and consumption patterns has helped us stay ahead of the curve. While there was a significant impact on demand and the supply chain during the early days, we have noticed that conditions are gradually stabilising. This crisis has given us an opportunity to redefine ourselves. For instance, we’ve used technology at its best to virtually remain present and connected with our customers.
 
We have resolved our customer’s challenges and developed newer and better solutions which reiterates our commitment towards them. An example of that is during the phase of the lockdown, we successfully developed new products for our customers whether it was Polyurethane or Textile Effects, we introduced products for customers online. This is a testament to our core expertise, which is not only developing products and technology, but also understanding our customers’ challenges and evolving requirements.
 
The pandemic has also presented us with an opportunity to make our operations more agile, efficient and explore new avenues for our business. For instance, our Textile Effects business has been supporting and enabling the medical textile segments through our range of textile finishes designed to improve protection of textiles, for both washable as well as disposable PPE kits.
 
While we have been extremely dynamic in our approach to resurrecting our operations post lockdown, we have not shied away from our responsibility towards the community. During the pandemic, we distributed a large number of PPE kits to government and healthcare services in Pune and nearby villages. That is how we have performed - we have navigated well, and we have also not lost track of our responsibility towards society, thus ensuring that we are building a resilient environment to withstand testing times which may lie ahead.
 
Apart from supply chain, were there any other challenges you faced after lockdown and how did you rectify it as you moved forward?
Honestly, most industries have faced common challenges. The first is demand, second is foreseeing that demand. Therefore, effective planning of supply chains became extremely crucial once the lockdown was imposed. The pandemic has ensured everyone thinks of new ways to operate. There has been a great amount of reset of the work and that of the business ecosystem during the past few months. There are some consumer driven industries such as packaging, which have done relatively better than others, but largely there has been an impact. Therefore, we have been gradually adapting to build better resilience for our business. It is important to deep dive into how we respond now, and also how we respond to the post pandemic era, whenever that comes.
 
Immediate steps included keeping our people safe and ensuring effective functioning of our key business and support functions. As a company we have managed this very well. Even during the peak of lockdown, we were able to function and fulfil our commitments to the Textile PPE industry. Talking about the current situation and the future, we must plan effectively and be ready to scale up as we rebuild, recover and rethink our operations. Most importantly, we are excited about revamping our organisation and making sure we are building an entity suited for a dynamic environment, consisting of evolving opportunities. 
 
I associate this action plan post pandemic with a very nice study that I read a few months ago which speaks of an adapt and adopt system. This approach involves the ability to iterate future plans and be prepared for the emergence of the new normal, as nobody knows what the new normal will be a few months from now. What we do know is that we can stay agile towards inevitable changes in the business context in the upcoming months. Thankfully, at Huntsman we run our business with a lot of domain knowledge complemented with global best practices and I think this helps us to adapt, adopt and evolve faster.
 
You mentioned the 4R and 1S, recovery, rebuilding, resilience and rethinking along with scaling up. What’s the strategy behind making these 4R’s successful and any Capex plan in 2020?
At Huntsman, whether it’s globally or in India, our strategy revolves around our most important customers. Regarding our plans for Capex, we remain committed to long term potential and future ideas. Hence, we have continued to build scale in India with continued investments in the right talent, research and capabilities, not only for the current scheme of things but the future as well.
 
We will not hesitate to leverage new opportunities with appropriate investment whether it is near or long term. We are strongly embedded within India, and our ability to work very closely with our customers has helped us understand them better. When business starts picking up, we won’t hesitate to back it up with strong investments to serve the incoming demand.
 
How do you see the India market post COVID-19?
If you observe the outlook of the Indian chemical industry as a whole, we are at an inflection point of an incredible opportunity. This is largely because we have been a consumption driven market and the middle class households in India, which I call the big belly of the consumption ecosystem, will continue to grow with increased per capita income. We are talking about a growing middle class of about 300 million people with increasing consumption patterns. A huge amount of sustainable urbanization is taking place and as a young population, we continue to be agile for a few decades. The chemical sector is largely poised to be influenced by these macro-economic trends.
 
The chemical industry has always been a consistent value creator and has remained an attractive hub of opportunities even in an environment of global uncertainty. The macro perspective indicates that while the short term outlook is challenging, the region’s long term growth story is intact and it will be positive in the years to come.
 
In the markets we operate in, I have observed accelerated correlations between the Indian chemicals or speciality chemicals market when compared to the GDP, and in some cases the acceleration has been 1.2 to 1.5 times of the GDP as well. This is predominantly led by growing per capita consumption for some of the products which is very low currently compared to the developed markets. Our markets are witnessing infrastructural development, alternate material replacements, changing consumer preferences and all of this will unfold a very interesting opportunity, largely for the chemical industry. Whether it is our polyurethanes business or the textiles business, it is touching the lives of most consumers in India. As GDP accelerates, so will the possibilities of doing more for Huntsman in India. 
 
You have an additional portfolio of taking care of South Asia Polyurethane, how is that market doing?
If we look at the polyurethane sector over all, it is a very versatile industry. From a market perspective, it is all related and driven by application and consumer preferences. From the Huntsman Polyurethane perspective, we are the global leaders in MDI based polyurethanes. Our polyurethanes business offers end-to-end solutions for industries such as adhesives, coating, automotive, insulation, flexibles amongst others. When we look at the South Asian market, these are largely strong economies. Things are shaping up well, the disposable income factor in these markets provide a good tailwind to the consumption.
 
Additionally, the growing demand for sustainability across the industry has also led to a paradigm shift in how vehicles will be produced. Auto manufacturers are actively seeking out newer materials and technology that will help them bring down the total weight of the vehicle. Polyurethane is one such lightweight material that offers a wide range of applications and properties such as very good aggression, tensile strength and good insulation properties. I always call it the smart designer’s polymer, as you can do more with less and therefore the opportunities for such applications to really transform e-mobility will lead to a further increase in demand for polyurethanes.
 
What’s the difference between a washable and disposable PPE and how many times can one wash it? 
As the COVID-19 situation evolves, there is a growing need for medical supplies to combat the spread of the virus, such as surgical masks and protective suits. Our Textile Effects division has a complete end-to-end range of offerings including pre-treatment, coloration and functional finishing for woven and non-woven fabrics for both washable/reusable PPE as well as disposable protective wear such as face-covers and scrubs.
 
Huntsman has a technical centre in Bombay and technical development centre in Pune. What are the activities you are performing in these two centres and is there a plan to increase manpower?
We have three centres, one is our global research and development centre located in Lighthall, the India headquarters. The centre carries out all activities right from ideation to commercialization. Technical expertise is largely provided through the entire life cycle of the product. The centre has been delivering innovation and research not only for India but also the rest of the world. The other branch of the same centre is the global research centre for Polyurethane, which is also the backbone for every molecule that we are modifying or creating here in Lighthall.
 
The second is the technology centre, which for us is more about the fast route to market anything that customer needs in a quick pattern. This is what we do in Baroda, as well as our Chakan site near Pune. The centres are also an example of our approach towards customer centricity. We make sure that we address customer or industry specific challenges within the shortest possible time frame. The quick solution and turn around opportunities for customers are based out of our technology centres and the long-term strategic aspects are handled by the Lighthall R&D centre.
 
Any plans on increasing manpower?
If you look at the overall innovation metrics of Huntsman, one of the fundamental pillars for our business is innovation and differentiation. Therefore we will do everything possible to make sure that we build on this. Our research centre in Mumbai has already begun adding value to our global portfolio footprint.
 
As we go along, we have some ambitious plans of growing our footprint in India both through innovation, which is our research centre and the customer support market which is through our technology centres. We are very positive that once the current situation stabilizes, we will further be able to enhance our capabilities, both through people and equipment in these centres by the next year.
 
Any new products or molecules that are being developed in these centres?
As we speak, there are numerous offerings out in the market from Huntsman that are touching lives in many ways during the pandemic. One of our key priorities as a brand is to continue driving sustainability through innovation. It is not only about producing new products but also about producing them in a sustainable manner. We continue to support our customers through the development of these solutions that result in better resource optimization and of course better cost efficiency. So doing more with less is what we are working towards. One of our products for the handicraft industry and general purpose applications was launched this year.
 
At Huntsman, we don’t make plans for six months or one year, our plans are largely milestone driven and we have a strong commitment towards it. We have always ensured that once we set an eye on achieving a goal, we will deliver.
 
So you want to say your growth potential for India as well as south Asia remains intact for the remaining part of the year and 2021?
Yes, very much so. The way we envisage the market in terms of how it may evolve, we are quite positive that next year will present interesting opportunities as the COVID-19 situation gradually improves. Another reason is also because most of the industries we serve in some way or the other are related to the consumer market.
 
So the reason for optimism is that other verticals are doing well hence definitely your products will also do pretty well?
I want us to be as resilient and as prepared as I have always been to tap and capture any opportunity or challenge that comes our way.
 
The automobile industry has not done bad if you compare the last two months numbers. This is an indication that the economy would not be as bad as it was perceived earlier. What's your views? 
Yes, that is a very good point and I largely agree. However, we need to ascertain what the drivers are for some of the automobile traction which the industry has garnered. If you read through the numbers, you will see a lot of this traction coming via entry level cars which are also driven by the revised perception as to how mobility will occur post the COVID era. My opinion is we must observe the numbers over the next few months before we can start making any predictions on how 2021 is going to evolve from January up next year. Overall, I think there are a few positive signs.
 
How do you see Huntsman global and India preparing for EV onslaught whenever it comes?
For us it is not a challenge but an opportunity. If you are talking specifically about E-vehicles that is where the play gets very interesting for Huntsman because I believe that Polyurethanes can play a critical role in addressing many such global megatrends. As the most effective thermal insulant in the market, MDI based polyurethanes are used widely to deliver energy savings in various domains. Specifically, if we move to automotives, I believe that with a lot of demand for sustainability across the industry, there has been a huge shift in the way vehicles will be driven, and more importantly, the way vehicles will be produced. So auto manufacturers today are actively seeking out various alternate materials. Polyurethanes are therefore the perfect alternative to create better fuel efficiency. Even in the EV domain, a very interesting opportunity lies ahead for Huntsman. We could offer a wide range of materials like thermal insulation products or even for seating and aggression resisting technologies.
 
I was part of one of the industry forums a couple of weeks ago and it was interesting to see how the world has changed and how dynamic technology has transformed into. It has become clear that companies which are heavy on innovation, technology and understanding the markets will be able to deliver leading performance in this changing environment and that is the case with Huntsman. We understand this market very well, we have been in it for a long time now and as EVs take centre stage, we are poised to be in a good position to work with the industry and resolve the challenges they are facing today.
 
Is MDI a patented technology or is it a general technology you have adopted?
There are products in the MDI domain that are patented by our organisation but MDI as a product is a chemistry and it is not patented by us. 
 
Do you have plans on hiring new talents and diversifying your base of doing fundamental research in India? 
I believe that as we develop and grow solutions we need more innovation creators, be it in Mumbai or our technology and innovation centres of Baroda or Pune. I am personally excited and bullish about the R&D capabilities we have been able to build over the years. Another important aspect is the availability of talent in India which is integral to achieving our goals. This means that there is scope to further develop it which will help us advance value creation for the chemical industry at large. We also need to find means to bridge the gap between industry and academia to facilitate more innovation. I think fundamentally this will be the greatest asset that India may build if we have to transform India into the next chemical hub of the world.
 
Huntsman should engage with young chemical engineers and try to focus on a start-up module which will be a win-win for both Huntsman and startups. What's your thought on this arrangement?  
Over the past few months, I have also been trying to work closely with our R&D teams. We have been quite active in this space be it academic institutes or engaging with students to come and do some work in our research or technology centres. Through your publication, I am also inviting people to talk to us and tell us how we can do more together whether it is through innovation or through start-ups which have a concept and want to incubate it and grow it faster, we are more than happy to collaborate with these individuals, associations, companies and institutions.
 
What are the CSR activities you have done in Baroda as well as Pune factories?
I strongly believe that we need to demonstrate our commitment towards society by investing in education, health and economic development of the people. For instance, we have created a massive education focused empowerment through our Anandi initiative which was inaugurated near our manufacturing sites in India in 2011. It has been nine years, and what we do there is improve water supply, upgrade school facilities and also improve teaching methods. Anandi has changed the lives of many local villagers and improved the livelihoods of farmers as well. It is incredibly exciting to see this change. At Chakan site in Pune we are starting a mobile medical unit there. This unit can travel to far off villages and make sure that we provide primary medical care to those who do not have access to a basic doctor and primary treatment. If we are able to manage initiatives at this level, we will be able to make a significant contribution to the society that we are living in. Also, child education and setting up a system for it is another initiative we have undertaken around Baroda and Chakan. For Huntsman, the business is not just about numbers but giving back to the community in as many ways as we can.

ICN Interview: Sanjeev Mullick, VP – Sales, Asia Pacific and Japan, Aspen Technology

November 07, 2020

ICN Interview: Sanjeev Mullick, VP – Sales, Asia Pacific and Japan, Aspen Technology

In a fireside chat with ICN, Sanjeev Mullick talks about Aspen Technology' key initiatives focused on the chemical sector and petrochemical sector, emerging trends in digital transformation and India strategy for the future

We are working on an innovative defoamer for the paper industry : Dewang Garg, MD, Trio Chemicals & Allied Products

September 20, 2020

We are working on an innovative defoamer for the paper industry : Dewang Garg, MD, Trio Chemicals & Allied Products

Dewang Garg, Managing Director, Trio Chemicals & Allied Products has more than 25 years of experience in handling production, operations and product development. Being associated with the family business, he has led Trio Chemicals to achieve accelerated growth in Defoamers and Specialty Chemicals manufacturing. He holds a degree in Commerce from Mumbai University and is an active member of BNI – Business Network India.

Speaking to Pravin Prashant, Editor, Indian Chemical News, Dewang Garg spoke about the size of the market, India's growth story and forecast, new innovations, capex investment and USP. Excerpts of the interview:

In terms of revenue and profit, how has Trio Chemicals performed in FY 2019-20? What 's the forecast for FY2020-21?
We did very well in the initial three quarters of FY 2019-20 but due to Corona spreading all over India, the fourth quarter was not as expected. In terms of revenue generation, we did approximately 25% growth over last year and maintained profitability at par with FY 2018-19.

Talking about FY 2020-21, we are hopeful to touch a growth of approximately 40-45% as Trio has ventured into organic food exports especially to USA and European countries. There is a good growth potential in the organic food sector and Nutra Trio will be touching a revenue of around Rs. 10 crore in FY 2020-21 i.e. in the first year of its inception.

What is the break-up of revenue with respect to domestic and exports in FY 2019-20? How have you performed in the export market and countries where you have done reasonably well?
The ratio of domestic and export is 60:40. Our main export was generated in the food sector where we did almost 40% of our turnover. The main countries are America and European countries. Middle East being a good market for chemical and food items, our focus in FY 2020-21 will be to provide defoamers and food items in these markets.

What is the market size of Antifoams/Defoamers and Performance Additives globally and India in FY 2019-20? What's the growth rate of these products in FY 2019-20? What's the forecast with respect to market size in FY2020-21 and why?
The global market was valued at US $5.81 billion in FY 2019-20 and is expected to be US $6.08 billion in 2020-21 by maintaining the predicted CAGR of 4.3% globally due to the increasing demand of simethicone in the pharma sector.

Are you developing any new product/products in the Antifoams/Defoamers and Performance Additives category? Where do you see the usage of this product?
Yes, innovation is an ongoing process and we believe innovation is the key to growth. We are now working on an innovative defoamer for the paper industry. Total industry size for paper defoamer is 800 MT per annum and we are expecting to get at least 15% market share.

The company has recently launched sanitizer and disinfectant products in the Indian market. What's the response for this new category of product in India?
Launching the sanitizer and disinfectant products was like picking the low hanging fruits during this pandemic. Now we see everyone, say paint manufacturer and chemical dealer selling sanitizer and disinfectant products. So it's going to be a commodity market. Our core business is defoamer and we will continue to focus on the growth of our defoamer business and also for the growth of Nutra Trio.

Do you have any plans of expanding or setting up a new plant apart from the one which you have in Sarigam, Gujarat? What's the maximum manufacturing output of Sarigam plants for Antifoams/Defoamers and Performance Additives?
Yes, we can produce approximately 6,000 tons of defoamers per annum and we can produce even higher quantities in the existing facility. We have already acquired a bigger warehouse in Vapi that will ease the process of transportation and we will be able to handle our logistics in a more efficient way. We have also shifted our corporate office to a new and bigger place. The work of setting up a new and bigger lab is ongoing which will allow us to have more focus on the innovation and application development of the products.

Are you Aatmanirbhar with respect to Antifoams/Defoamers and Performance Additives category of products manufactured in India. If not, do you have any plans of setting up a plant for making the above raw materials?
A big yes to Aatmanirbhar. We manufacture and we can custom make any type of defoamer, so we can proudly say that we are Aatmanirbhar with respect to Antifoams/Defoamers in India.

What's the USP of Trio Chemicals product in Antifoams/Defoamers and Performance Additives?
Trio is strategically situated in the central place and hence is closer to all the customers. The USP of our products is: Use of high quality; raw material cost; excellent performance; various pack sizes; and easy availability.

Growing Chemical Industry Ecosystem, The Aatma Nirbhar Way

September 12, 2020

Growing Chemical Industry Ecosystem, The Aatma Nirbhar Way

Recorded version of ICN e-conference held on 11th September 2020.

OSI2020 to make production processes more cost- and energy-efficient, says Sucheta Govil, CCO, Covestro AG

August 18, 2020

OSI2020 to make production processes more cost- and energy-efficient, says Sucheta Govil, CCO, Covestro AG

Sucheta Govil, Chief Commercial Officer and Member of Board, Covestro AG spoke exclusively to Pravin Prashant, Editor, Indian Chemical News on the impact of COVID-19, restructuring of Capex plan, use of Quantum Computing and plans to save EUR 430 million. Excerpts of the interview.     
 
Covestro has strengthened its presence in China by investing more than Euro 3 billion in recent years. Are you planning to increase investment in other countries in the 2020-21 timeframe? If yes, for which product and by when?
Covestro invested a total of EUR 910 million in 2019 (up by approximately 200 million from the previous year level EUR 707 million), the highest figure in its history. We manage our investment projects across our product portfolio with a focus on efficiency and the best possible return on and use of capital. We don't comment on regional investment plans.
 
What would be the impact of COVID-19 in your 2020 revenue and profitability? Due to drop in revenue have you restructured your capex plan and by how much?
The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented impacts globally on many industries especially automotive, construction, travel, leisure etc. For Covestro too, results of the first half of 2020 were significantly impacted by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Covestro adapted very quickly to the new conditions at an early stage, focusing on active, consistent crisis management and further strengthening its liquidity position. As a result of the focus on liquidity management, current investments are being curtailed by around EUR 200 million bringing total investments to some EUR 700 million (previously EUR 900 million). Investment projects of Covestro are managed consistently with a focus on efficiency and the best possible use of capital.
 
How is your company planning to cope up with COVID-19 so that your company has minimal effect in future?
Business development in the first half of 2020 was significantly influenced by the development of the coronavirus pandemic. Covestro took decisive action at an early stage to adapt the company to current conditions, protect the health of all employees, ensure the ability to supply customers and safeguard its strong liquidity position.
 
In response to the economic challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, Covestro raised its target for short-term cost savings in the 2020 financial year to over EUR 300 million. This was in addition to the ongoing efficiency program. Current investments were reduced by around EUR 200 million. In addition, the Management Board, Supervisory Board and employees of Covestro are jointly making a solidarity contribution in the course of country-specific cost-saving measures. Additionally, the company took a number of measures in the first half of 2020 to further secure its robust liquidity position. These include the signing of a new syndicated revolving credit facility with ESG element, the issuance of two Eurobonds, continuous financing of ongoing business operations through working capital facilities and the signing of a loan facility with European Investment Bank for R&D activities.
 
The Management Board of Covestro continues to actively monitor the worldwide development of the coronavirus pandemic. Any necessary adjustments or expansions of existing measures are made in accordance with the recommendations and instructions of the respective governments and advisory councils.
 
Presently, what is the level of digitization in Europe, Asia (India) and US plants and by what percentage are you increasing its digitization and focus areas of investment in terms of digitization?
One of the main objectives of our digitization efforts is to intensify customer centricity, optimize marketing strategies and identify attractive market opportunities even sooner.
 
Also in production, Covestro is already actively exploiting the benefits of digital transformation and consistently driving digital innovation. Different pilot projects provide new findings for the predictive, intelligent maintenance of systems, one of these has been running at the production site in Caojing, China. The global project for digitizing and integrating the system landscape in production, "Optimized System Integration" (OSI2020) for short, will make production processes even more cost- and energy-efficient in the future. Further digitalization of the production facilities will make planning, operation and maintenance much easier.
 
In order to achieve long-term innovation leadership also in digital chemistry, Covestro builds up resources and expands partnerships. With so-called quantum computing, the materials manufacturer is going one step further to investigate new possibilities in the field of chemical simulations. Therefore, Covestro and Google have signed a research partnership agreement recently.
 
What's the R&D budget for 2020? New innovations in terms of alternative raw materials, innovative recycling, joint solutions and renewable synergies that you are conducting in PUR, PCS and CAS business units. How do you see these innovations increasing the overall market size for Covestro globally?
In fiscal 2019, our R&D expenditure amounted to €266 million (previous year €276 million). We don't comment on planned investments.
 
How are you planning to use Quantum Computing for new innovations within the company?
The novel quantum computing is another important milestone in the search for new, digitized research processes. This forward-looking computer technology is the key to knowledge that is needed, for example, to successfully advance the circular economy. With the help of quantum computing, details of highly complex chemical reaction processes can be digitally simulated and evaluated in a very short time. With quantum computing, Covestro intends to build on the success of previous investments and further deepen its global competencies in computational chemistry.
 
What are the cross industry collaborations that Covestro is working on and how will it benefit industry and Covestro? What are the programs running in 2020?
Covestro is dedicated to the orientation towards the circular economy. Shifting to a global Circular Economy is a large-scale project that can only be achieved through collaboration. Society, businesses, and governments will have to cooperate across borders and continents. We are convinced that the environmental service sector offers new business opportunities, value creation paths and cooperation that go beyond all B2B models.
 
Covestro already cooperates with a number of partners in this area. Current projects include the EU Circular Plastics Alliance, launched in 2019, which brings together plastics manufacturers and processors, major retailers, and waste management and recycling companies with the aim of reusing ten million tons of recycled plastics annually across Europe by 2025. Another example of cross industry collaboration is the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a global network of companies that has also been active since 2019. Together with other companies, Covestro is working to stop the disposal of plastic waste in rivers and seas. Pollution caused by the improper treatment of plastic waste is a challenge of global proportions to which countries throughout Africa and Asia in particular urgently need answers.
 
By 2020, the company is planning to save Euro 430 million. What are the steps you are planning to take to execute this program?
Targets for short-term measures were raised in the course of the corona crisis. To realize savings of overall €450 million in 2020, the existing efficiency programme perspective was accelerated. This includes streamlined standard business, maximized portfolio synergies, increased efficiency, reorganized central units as well as fostered differentiation. In addition, Covestro took short-term measures for additional savings in areas such as SG&A costs, building maintenance, procurement and solidarity measures.
 
Industry trends for Covestro range of products in 2020?
For our customers, we develop numerous product innovations that deliver answers to global challenges such as urbanization, mobility of the future or climate change. As an innovation leader, Covestro and its materials are absolutely in tune with the time. Sustainability is the driving force: We therefore listen to our customers and develop products for a circular economy, especially in unprecedented times of crisis. For example we have successfully developed the world's first 64.2-meter wind turbine blade made completely of polyurethane. The blade, made jointly with leading Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind, and leading wind blade manufacturer LZ Blades, represents a breakthrough in the application of polyurethane resin in large-scale wind turbine blades and marks the beginning of a new generation of longer and stronger blades for the wind power industry.

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