AV Birla Signing Land Deal for Mexico Carbon Black Plant

India’s Aditya Birla group is reported to be in the process of signing a land deal with the port authority of Altamira, in eastern Mexico. The purpose of the deal is to facilitate the establishment of a US$150 million carbon black facility. “We may sign the agreement next week,” commented AV Birla Group regional joint president Surendra Goyal. “The $150 million project will be completed in two years.”

According to Goyal, the region near the port, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas was, selected as an entry point to the US, where naptha is cheaper. The Mexican carbon black facility will add to the company’s global capacity of around 790,000 tonnes per annum, an amount that makes the company the world’s fourth largest producer. In total the Aditya Birla group plans to invest about US$600 million to increase its carbon black manufacturing capacities in India and globally. Goyal, who heads the group’s operations in Latin America and Egypt, said the company also intends to set up a facility in Oman.