Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Bajaj Hindusthan Plans To Foray Chemical Biz

New Delhi: Bajaj Hindusthan is planning to enter into molasses-based chemical business to diversify and secure itself from the cyclical nature of the sugar business. Molasses is a byproduct from the company''s sugar business. The company has a distillery capacity of 740 kilolitres per day and produced 87,516 kilolitres of industrial alcohol last year. Sugar, the company''s main business, is highly cyclical in nature and the company reported losses in the last few quarters due to a downturn in the sugar sector. To foray into valued-added segments, the company recently infused Rs 240 crore to establish two medium density fibre board (MDF) plants and a particleboard unit based on bagasse, a byproduct from its sugar mills. The MDF board unit has a capacity of 80,000 cubic metres each while the particleboard has a capacity of 50,000 cubic metres. Jubilant Organosys and India Glycols are the two leading companies which produce a wide range of chemicals from molasses or alcohol.

No comments: