Perstorp, a world leader in specialty chemicals based in Malmö, Sweden, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corp. (MIDC) to initiate the process of evaluating an opportunity to invest in a new world-scale production plant for Penta in India, as part of the “Make in India” initiative.

In July 2015, Perstorp acquired the Penta business from Koei Chemical Company Ltd., a Japanese chemicals producer.

“The Penta business is a corner stone for Perstorp and an integral part of the strategy to drive growth in the Asia-Pacific region. It requires presence and determination in order to succeed. An investment in India would further build upon and strengthen our number one position in the global market. Today’s signing of an MoU demonstrates our intention to take the desired steps in the region,” says Perstorp President and CEO Jan Secher.

“Perstorp has for a longer period successfully been building its position in Asia. The ‘Make in India’ initiative gives Perstorp an arena to further evaluate opportunities within this exciting region. Ultimately our intention is to develop existing and new customer relationships to further support their success and growth”, says Ulrika Andersson, vice president of the Business Unit Penta.

Pentaerythritol (Penta) is a white crystalline polyhydric alcohol containing four primary hydroxyl groups. Applications are building blocks in alkyd resins for coatings, radiation curing monomers, polyurethanes, rosin esters, synthetic lubricants and explosives. Perstorp is the global leader in producing essential intermediates for the development of Group V polyol ester base stock for synthetic lubricant manufacturing.

Perstorp is currently producing Penta in three different production plants in Germany, the U.S. and Sweden.

The “Make in India” initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2014 as part of a wider set of nation-building initiatives. The initiative was set to simplify doing business and invest in India, to turn the country into a manufacturing hub. Since then India has seen an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) of 48% annually and India is today enjoying the highest growth in the world, closing 2015 with a GDP growth of 7.3%, with a projection of 7.5% for 2016.