Clariant (Muttenz / Switzerland; www.clariant.com) has inaugurated the CHF 3.2m (EUR 2.6m) extension of its pigments and pigments preparations plant in Roha, near Mumbai / India. Output of the facility – nameplate capacity of which was not disclosed – is to go towards the local market as well as neighbouring Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the company said. End markets serviced by the plant include interior and exterior coatings, packaging as well as the personal, home and fabric care products sectors, among others.

The plant is part of a series of investments the Swiss group is making in Asia, as outlined in early 2013 (see Plasteurope.com of 25.04.2013). Aside from raising its technical service in China, the plans also included an expansion of its masterbatch and pigments facility in Indonesia, which the group completed earlier this year – see Plasteurope.com of 16.06.2014.

Last year, Clariant’s Pigments business unit doubled its marketing and sales organisation in Asia. Part of the group’s Plastics & Coatings business, the unit’s sales grew by a mid-single digit figure. Growth was even higher in Asia and Latin America, driven largely by the markets in India and China (for more details, see Plasteurope.com of 24.02.2014).