Huntsman Corporation yesterday announced the acquisition of the Baroda Division of Metrochem Industries, a manufacturing facility for the production of intermediates and specialty products for textiles, located in Baroda, India. The Baroda Division today has more than 700 employees and contractors, and current annual sales of approximately 2.4 billion rupees.

"This acquisition is a major milestone in our strategy. With this move we are realigning our manufacturing footprint towards Asia, the region that will fuel our growth in the years to come," said Paul Hulme, President of Huntsman's Textile Effects division (TE).

"This vertical backward integration will significantly strengthen our competitiveness and support our development in Asia, and most notably in India, one of our largest markets. The world of specialty textiles has been changing at a rapid pace, with new materials, technologies and innovations in production around the world. Supporting the growth of the Indian textile industry means exploring opportunities beyond the conventional textile chain of fibre to fashion, penetrating the nonwoven and technical segments of the textiles industry as well," he added.

The site in Baroda is the second largest after Basel, Switzerland, within the Huntsman Textile Effects division and has potential for further expansion, especially in the fields of specialty dyes and key intermediates needed for the production of dyes in India and other TE plants. The integration of the Baroda site with Huntsman's existing manufacturing sites in Qingdao and Panyu (China), as well as Mahachai (Thailand), will mark a decisive step in making Asia the principal hub of Huntsman's Textile Effects division and the main manufacturing platform to support the future of the technical textiles industry in the region and ensure our long term global competitiveness.

As part of the division's far-reaching strategic transformation, which has achieved significant success to date, Huntsman's Textile Effects division also recently unveiled its new business structure, designed to focus clearly on selected market segments and shifting its centre of business to Asia. An important component of the new structure is the recently announced move of the division's global headquarters from Basel to Singapore. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.