Henkel Adhesives Technologies, on 5 February 2020, officially inaugurated its new production facility in Kurkumbh, India, near Pune. The company has invested about 50 million euro (Indian equivalent of Rs 400 crore) on the manufacturing unit and intends to invest another 50 million euro over the next five years, said Jan-Dirk Auris, Member of the Management Board and executive president, adhesive technologies business unit, Henkel AG & Co KgaA. With total investments of 100 million euro, the management aims to serve the growing demand of India industries for high-performance solutions in adhesives, sealants and surface treatment products.
The state-of-the-art manufacturing factory site ad measures 100,000 square meters and has a built-up area of 51,000 square meters. Designed as a smart factory the new plant enables a wide range of Industry 4.0 operations and meets the highest standards for sustainability, this site is India’s largest adhesive manufacturing factory. It will further increase Henkel’s capabilities to serve customers across markets including flexible packaging, automotive, agriculture and construction equipment, general industry and metals.
“India is one of the most important emerging markets with tremendous growth opportunities for our adhesives business,” said Jan-Dirk Auris, member of the Management Board and executive vice president, Adhesive Technologies business unit, Henkel AG and Co. KGaA. “We have application experts across manufacturing industries worldwide and work closely with our customers and partners. Our trusted brands and leading solutions based on our unmatched portfolio of 40 technologies create sustainable value for our customers. With the launch of this state-of-the-art, multi-technology manufacturing factory, we have created capacities to meet the demands for our high impact solutions in this dynamic market. This investment will enable us to further drive profitable growth.”
The site is equipped with technologies to ensure traceability and transparency by ensuring built-in quality. End-to-end digitalization of the plant operations has enabled digitized workflows – thus making manufacturing more efficient. It deploys closed material handling systems and a high level of process automation. For the first time, as a global pilot in Henkel, the site has implemented deep integration of process automation with Smart Factory (Industry 4.0).
The Kurkumbh site meets the highest standards of sustainability. It is among the very few chemical manufacturing sites to be awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certificate by the US Green Building Council based on a holistic energy efficiency concept. About 10% of the total power consumption of the site comes from captive solar energy and further use of renewable energy is planned. Almost 16 % of the site’s annual water requirement comes from rainwater harvesting. Air, as well as wastewater discharge, are monitored online at the site.
Shilip Kumar, president, Henkel India said, “We will continue to invest in local manufacturing, as it gives our adhesive technologies business in India a strategic advantage. This site will not only cater to the Indian market but also markets in geographic proximity such as the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. As market leaders in this industry, our focus is to offer high-impact solutions to our customers and thereby convert latent market potential into profitable growth.”
Henkel Adhesive Technologies is a global leader in adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings. The business unit serves around 130,000 customers in over 800 industrial areas with tailor-made products and technologies used in a wide array of consumer goods and industrial products.