Specialist flooring company Flowcrete Australia has launched its first manufacturing facility in India. Located in Chennai, the plant will enable Flowcrete to significantly reduce lead times in supply to customers while simultaneously reducing the impact on the environment by using locally available raw materials.
Huge potential and vast scale of the Indian market were two key factors behind Flowcrete’s decision to establish manufacturing operations in India according to their International Managing Director Craig Brookes. Availability of good raw materials locally and access to excellent personnel were other key indicators supporting this move.
The Indian manufacturing facility will produce a range of Flowcrete’s seamless resin-based products including the self-smoothing Flowshield SL, Flowcoat SF41 and HS, Deckshield, the watertight car-park decking systems and Flowshield LXP.
Polyurethane concrete antimicrobial Flowfresh will also be manufactured at the Chennai plant, making Flowcrete the only company in India with PU concrete as part of its locally manufactured product portfolio.
The new facility has secured several major orders from leading companies across India including Hilton Hotels Chennai, Godfrey Philips Mumbai, Fourts Pharma Chennai and Reid & Taylor Bangalore as well as Kanakia Builders of Mumbai.
Flowcrete has been able to use the new plant to increase the volume of resin being supplied to its existing network of applicators.
According to Flowcrete India Director Vivekanandan Margasahayam, their customers now have a reliable source of quality flooring systems from a local manufacturer in addition to immediate access to qualified technical resources for advice on choosing the best flooring solutions for their projects.
Current production capacity at the plant is 9,000 tonnes per annum, with expansion plans set to bring capacity to 21,000 tonnes per annum within the next six to nine months.
Based on the current demand, Flowcrete is already planning another modular plant to house a filler plant and allow additional resin production.
Flowcrete’s purpose-built manufacturing plant in Chennai is located in a busy industrial area and managed by Sudhir Aikkaraparampil who holds a degree in Chemistry and 15 years’ manufacturing experience gained with prestigious manufacturing companies in India and Saudi Arabia.
A fully operational QC laboratory employing the latest equipment is in place at the Chennai facility. Additional support is provided by Flowcrete’s regional headquarters in Malaysia, which features a large R&D facility.
