CHENNAI: Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited (GFL), a part of the Inox Group of Companies, is planning to increase the capacity of its Dahej facility to meet increased product demand for the domestic and international markets, and for captive consumption.
GFL initially set up its Dahej facility to manufacture upstream and downstream chemicals to widen its product portfolio, increase its cost competitiveness, climb up the value chain and provide longevity to its refrigerant business. This facility, which manufactured caustic soda, chlorine, chloromethanes, and poly tetra fluoro ethylene (PTFE – an advanced engineering plastic) was commissioned in stages between 2007 and 2008.
After fully stabilising its existing plants and attaining high levels of capacity utilisation, GFL has now decided to invest around Rs 500 crore to increase its caustic soda capacity to 170000 tpa, its chloromethane capacity to 120000 tpa, and its PTFE capacity to 12500 tpa. GFL will also enhance the capacity of its captive power plant adequately to meet its increased power and steam requirements.
This investment will make GFL amongst the only 2 – 3 global plants which are fully integrated from salt, gas and fluorspar, to make PTFE, an advanced engineering polymer, with a multitude of value-added applications across several industries. This investment will also make GFL India’s largest producer of chloromethanes, HCFC22 and PTFE.
GFL plans to sell the caustic soda in the Indian and international markets, and transfer the entire chlorine produced to its chloromethane plant. The entire chloroform produced in its chloromethane plant will be used in its HCFC22 (a refrigerant) facility at Ranjitnagar.
The entire HCFC22 produced will eventually be used in its PTFE plant.
The engineering of this expansion activity has already commenced, and GFL expects the expansion to be commissioned within 2010.
GFL has also been awarded Certificate of Registration under ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 for its Dahej complex, for its Quality Management System, Environment Management System, and Occupational Health and Safety Management System.
With this, all GFL’s manufacturing plants are ISO 9001 and 14001, and OHSAS 18001 certified.