By IANS,
Ahmedabad : The Tokyo-based $9.2 billion Dainippon Ink and Chemicals Incorporated (DIC) will set up a printing ink manufacturing plant in Gujarat at an estimated investment of $33 million, official sources said here Monday.
The plant will be located in the special economic zone (SEZ) for chemicals coming up at Dahej in south Gujarat.
The Japanese giant’s decision to set up the plant in India is part of its strategy of positioning itself to respond to future growth in the Asian and Oceania markets by leveraging India’s competitive advantages in terms of low-costs base, logistics and other costs, state government sources said.
The plant will be the DIC’s second mother plant in Asia. The first is in Nantong, in China.
DIC will invest approximately 3.5 billion yens (Rs.1.4 billion) to build the new plant, which is scheduled to commence operation in July next year.
It will have a maximum capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year. The plant will have the latest manufacturing process on ink production in order to lower costs.
The new plant’s location in an SEZ means DIC will enjoy liberal import and export regulations.
The plant is being designed so that it becomes a dedicated supply source for printing inks to markets in Asia and Oceania regions, as well as other countries.
The printing ink industry in India is dominated by multinational companies. Besides DIC, Flint and Sakata of Japan specialize in the manufacture of inks.
Among the domestic players, Hindustan Inks has large capacities in India and now in the US as well.
Currently, the printing ink market in India is worth Rs.15 billion and is growing at the rate of 15-18 percent yearly, according to C.K. Anirudhan, executive secretary of All India Printing Ink Manufacturers Association. He estimates the current production level to be at about 150,000 tonnes annually.