Lubrizol to construct its largest manufacturing facility in India

By OEM Update Editorial July 30, 2024 7:19 pm

Lubrizol signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Maharashtra to purchase a 120-acre plot in Aurangabad to meet growing regional demand and advance local-for-local supply for transportation and industrial markets and other growing segments.

The Lubrizol Corporation, a global leader in specialty chemicals, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to purchase a 120-acre plot in Aurangabad, India, where it plans to construct a new manufacturing facility to initially support the region’s growing transportation and industrial fluid markets. The initial phase of the project represents a projected investment of approximately $200 million, the company’s largest ever in India, and builds on previously committed investment in the region.

The plant will become the company’s second-largest manufacturing facility globally and its largest manufacturing facility in India when completed. Construction will progress in phases over the next several years, with room for future expansion.

“Lubrizol has made meaningful investments in India for more than five decades,” said Flavio Kliger, President of Lubrizol Additives. “This new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will allow us to enhance our local capacity and capabilities for our Additives business with the potential to support other Lubrizol businesses and regions in the future.”

The announcement of the Aurangabad plant signals the company’s latest efforts to accelerate growth and enhance its local-for-local capacity in the region. In 2023, Lubrizol announced its most significant investment in its more than 50-year history in the region in the form of a USD 150 million pledge. That investment supports the construction of the world’s largest CPVC resin plant in Vilayat, Gujarat, the doubling of capacity at Lubrizol’s site in Dahej, Gujarat, the opening of a grease lab in Navi Mumbai and additional in-country job growth and innovation. In addition, this year the company opened its first Global Capability Center in Pune as a strategic hub to accelerate its growth in the region and enable closer collaboration for customers and employees.

“Lubrizol understands the importance of a local-for-local approach, from India-based manufacturing to in-region innovation to continued investment in a local talent,” says Bhavana Bindra, Managing Director, Lubrizol IMEA (India, Middle East and Africa). “We look forward to continuing to be partners in progress to our customers and serve as a catalyst for growth and inspired breakthroughs.” 

Nitin Mengi, Vice President, Lubrizol Additives IMEA, and Chairman and Managing Director, Lubrizol India Private Limited, said, “This announcement underscores our continued commitment to our employees, our partners, and our customers in the region. The growing transportation and industrial markets in India represent a tremendous opportunity, and Lubrizol is thrilled to be a part of the bright future of these industries.”

In addition to supporting demand for India, this site will enable export opportunity to surrounding countries and to other Lubrizol sites. Commencement of manufacturing at the site is expected to coincide with Lubrizol’s 100th anniversary in 2028.