Union Colours strengthens India operations

In a period of about 18 months, Union Colours, the international division of Longyu Pigments & Chemicals Corporation, has established a fine form in India. This includes an office in Mumbai, and a R&D centre in Vapi, Gujarat, under the name of UC Pigments India.

27 Nov 2015 | By PrintWeek India

The Vapi R&D centre, which is over a year old, is a hub for developing and formulating customised organic pigments. “Currently we are utilising only a third of the area for our R&D activities. However, by mid 2016, we plan to start a pilot production plant for our pigments here,” said Oswald Rebello, director, UC Pigments India.
 
The company boasts of having the single largest pigment production plant in China, with an installed capacity of producing  100,000 metric tonnes per annum. Union Colours has invested heavily into building a huge Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) for pollution control, and also into ReacH registration for most of their products to match the standards for export into Europe. And now, with its presence in India, Union Colours is foreseeing a more direct and close interaction with its customers in India. 
 
“A parallel can be drawn between the requirements of markets in India, Middle East and Africa. The Vapi centre is well equipped to design and develop products for these markets,” added Rebello.
 
In India, Union Colours enjoys presence in both the ink and the paint industry. While they enjoy a cumulative 20% share in the printing ink segment across top brass customers of the likes of DIC, Sakata, Hubergroup India, Siegwerk, Uflex and Organic Coatings, they are striving to gain a stronger foothold in the paint and plastics segment.
 
For Union Colours, the road ahead is both organic and inorganic growth. “Today, a tech team of two in the Vapi unit work towards developing and tweaking products to suit the Indian market demands. At the same time, we also see a joint venture taking shape in the near future, that will help us enter into the space of Phthalo pigment production,” Rebello added.
 
 
Phillip Myles, director and general manager, Union Colours, said, “Over the last year we have started operations at the Vapi (Gujarat) Technical Centre to serve the local clients with technical service and product development, and opened an office in Mumbai to improve regional communications. This is the right time to form our regional entity and solidify our group’s intentions to support our clients in India."