VV Titanium Pigments Looks To Invest Rs 100 Crore In New Facility

VV Titanium Pigments, a part of VV Minerals that is concerned in the manufacture of Anatase-grade titanium dioxide is preparing to invest Rs 100 crore for upgrading its operations into a coated rutile plant. The decision to inject such huge sums of investment into the industry stems from the growing demand for the product.

This is one of the largest investments made by any private entity for meeting the domestic demand for titanium dioxide. With the company’s vast experience in the heavy mineral mining industry, this expansion brings fillip to the company’s bottom lines. The project is could bring in a foreign exchange saving of Rs 2500 million per annum.

V Subramanian, managing director of VV Mineral Company, said, “We are excited about announcing the Coated Rutile Plant project and commercial production of base rutile TiO2 which will bridge the demand supply gap faced by our country. We are positive about the value proposition once the new coated rutile plant is functional as this is ‘Made in India’ catering to Indian market. We are confident that the new German energy-efficient technology would help develop a zero-waste manufacturing facility, a first of its kind in India.”

This is VV Groups second big investment in the pigment industry, after it acquired Kilburn Chemicals (now VV Titanium Pigments) located at Tuticorin, which produces titanium dioxide from Ilmenite. With this expansion project, VV Group is seeking to capture a major chunk of the titanium dioxide demand in India given the enormous potential of mineral resources in India.

The coated rutile plant is expected to begin operations by 2016. The state-of-the-art plant is expected to be built with German technology. It is considered to be environmentally sustainable, with it being constructed in a manner that there will be less dependence on water, almost 1/3 savings as compared to any similar plant.

The facility is expected to provide direct employment to more than 200 people and also indirectly benefit more than 5,000 individuals. Additionally, the indigenous paints and plastic industry could also find some benefits, as it would drops its reliance on exports from China, Japan and western countries.

Demand for titanium dioxide in India is about 3,00,000 mtpa, whereas domestic production is at 60,000 mtpa.  Ilmenite and rutile sand are also used to produce titanium metal for use in aircraft, spacecraft, motor vehicles, desalination plants and surgical implants.

VV Minerals, is based in Tamil Nadu. Their mine sites are mainly based in Tuticorin and Tisayanvilai. Currently they hold number one position for ilmenite mining, and Garnet mining. They are also the number one garnet exporters of the country. The leading company that indulges in heavy mineral mining in Tuticorin is VV Mineral, India. They are India’s biggest mining, manufacturers and exporters of Garnet.