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COLUMN
INDIA GLYCOLS: MILES AHEAD IN SUSTAINABILITY IGL will not only be the provider of import substitutes of Bio-specialties (specialty chemicals of minimum carbon footprint and extraordinary performance) but it will also become a resource point of quality products for net zero goals
PROF. DR. R. K. KHANDAL PRESIDENT, R&D AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT INDIA GLYCOLS LIMITED
V. P. JOSHI
HEAD, R&D INDIA GLYCOLS LIMITED
I
ndia Glycols Limited (IGL), a pioneer in renewable chemicals, is an example of success through innovations and green technology employed to produce chemicals having low carbon footprint, based on life cycle analysis, completely bio-degradable derived from renewable resources including agricultural wastes and alternatives to those derived from fossil resources. The success story of IGL can be attributed to six main factors: Remaining ahead of its time; Highly diversified product range; Several firsts to its credit; JV with Clariant International; Reliable source for quality products; and Future growth path. Remaining ahead of its time: The global chemical Industry has come full circle. In the last hundred years; those who were going for synthetic chemicals, at one time, from fossil resources have started looking for renewable resources. Four decades ago, when world-scale production capacities of
mono-ethylene glycol (MEG), a monomer for polyester, were being set up in India, M. L. Bhartia, the founder chairman of Bhartia group, took a visionary decision to set up a relatively smaller size plant to manufacture MEG through renewable resources i.e. sugarcane molasses. Today, the whole world is looking for chemicals, including MEG from bio-resources, thereby replacing fossil resources. IGL, a public limited company, is one of the leading companies of ‘Bhartia Group’. Located at Kashipur in Uttarakhand, IGL was established in November 1983 with a mandate of producing high quality products derived from renewable resources. Designing and innovations for new products, processes and technologies, had been the driving forces for sustainability. Novel chemistries based on renewable resources have been the main focus area for the state-of-the-art of R&D in IGL. The products are being developed keeping in mind the aim of providing indigenous products for different industry sectors, by using local resources, while matching with global standards of quality. As an R&D driven organization, remaining always ahead of its time, IGL has emerged as a leading manufacturer of Bio-Glycols, Bio-Ethylene Oxide, Bio-Glycol Ethers, Bio-Surfactants, Bio-Polymers, and performance chemicals with the distinction of being the first and the only company of its kind in the world, manufacturing bio-based performance chemicals adopting green technology. The company has a vast product range that covers a wide variety of specialty chemicals and herbal products such as nu-
