H.E. Mrs. Suchitra Durai, the Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Thailand, visited the Aditya Birla Chemicals – Advanced Materials’ facilities at Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong Province on 10 April 2021. Since its inception in 1992, the Advanced Materials business has made significant contribution to the Thailand Economy with consistently high exports (>80%) and by creating quality jobs for the society.
H.E the Ambassador had kindly consented for the visit to witness the exemplary work being done by the company in the fields of Sustainability, Bio-based Materials & Green Chemistry as well as to understand the company’s operations & products.
H.E.the Ambassador and other accompanying officials from the consulate were given tour of the R&D, Application Development Centre and the manufacturing plant. The company highlighted their legacy from commencement of its operations in 1992 and its successful transformation from a regional commodity manufacturer to a Global innovation leader. Product and innovative applications in coatings, composites, electrical & electronics and construction segments were also shown indicating the company’s technological prowess.
H.E. the Ambassador took keen interest in learning about Recyclamine®, a novel & disruptive technology owned by the company that addresses the long-standing and compelling issue of recyclability of thermoset epoxy plastics. Traditionally the epoxies are most suitable polymers for demanding applications like wind energy, aerospace, defense, automobiles however, their non-recyclability has been a bottleneck. The thermoset plastic waste generated during processing and at the end of life is estimated to be globally 5 million tons per annum. This waste generated ends up in landfills or is processed by energy intensive inefficient processes which results in increased pollution and global warming. Advanced Materials’ proprietary technology, Recyclamine® offers a game changing-lasting solution and one of its kind that has enabled recycling of thermoset epoxy plastics. In addition the products based on Recyclamine® provide superior performance compared to conventional materials.
H.E. the Ambassador especially applauded the fact that Recyclamine® facilitates a closed-loop system linked to circular economy and contributes in creating value from waste, as the material recovered from recycling can be re-used and re-purposed for making representative plastic components.
The company’s Unit Head & Joint President, Mr. Yuvraj Patil informed that Recyclamine® technology has been successfully commercialized with customers globally and the company has commissioned a pilot plant for seed marketing of Recyclamine® and for supplying to leading composite manufacturers. It was also informed that the company is in process of establishing a new manufacturing plant for Recyclamine® with 10,000 tons per annum capacity in WHA Industrial Estate which will be subsequently expanded to 50,000 tons per annum capacity. In coming years Thailand will be the pioneer and hub for Recyclamine® and the product will be exported all over the world.
The R&D team explained the details of other products such as bio-based epoxy resins, green chemistry offerings, and waterborne systems among others. The initiatives taken by the company support Thailand government’s new economic model, Thailand 4.0 to establish an innovation driven economy.
H.E. the Ambassador congratulated the team for extraordinary and world class work being done by the company, Advanced Materials. She also expressed that Recyclamine® technology compliments Thailand government’s drive for sustainability and circular economy.
On the occasion, Mr. Sanjeev Sood - Country Head, Aditya Birla Group-Thailand thanked H.E. the Ambassador for taking time in visiting the Advanced Materials plant and acknowledging the efforts by the company and the Aditya Birla Group.
