AkzoNobel Opens New Agchem Lab in Mumbai
9 July 2014 
New lab in Mumbai; photo courtesy AkzoNobel
AkzoNobel has opened a new agrochemicals laboratory in Mumbai, India, to assist formulators in developing their customized agrochemical recipes.
“The inauguration of the agrochemicals lab is in line with our ambition to get closer to our customers, to increase our presence in the Indian agrochemical market, and to serve our customers in every part of
the world,” Dr. Turgut Battal, AkzoNobel senior section manager, Agro Applications, EMEIA, told employees at the recent ribbon-cutting.
The new laboratory will focus on dry formulations for the EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India, Africa) region. It will focus on dry formulations for WG (wettable granules), SG (soluble granules), WP (wettable powder) and liquid formulations such as SC (suspension concentrates) and SL (soluble liquid).
Featuring the most up-to-date equipment, the new laboratory is equipped with a state-of-the-art air jet mill for producing dry formulations and a state-of-the-art wet mill for creating suspension concentrates, according to the company.
“This capability will help us serve our Indian customers as well as our global key accounts,” added Dr. Battal.
“We are committed to sustainable growth by serving our customers locally and developing solutions for local agrochemical markets,” said Dr. Karin Bergström, global marketing manager, Agro Applications,
AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry. “We are increasing our capabilities worldwide to serve our agrochemical customers, wherever they are.”
“The laboratory will support new and existing customers by providing much better technical service and formulation development with AkzoNobel products, for better agrochemicals/pesticide formulations,”
added Anurag Deswal, sales manager, agrochemicals, India, AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry.
AkzoNobel agrochemical revenue growth in India doubled in 2013, and the company expects a 150% increase in the next three to four years, according to Anurag Deswal. “We expect that our increased laboratory capabilities combined with our local manufacturing ability will help facilitate our growth in the region.”
India is currently the fourth-largest producer of agrochemicals globally, after the US, Japan and China. The increasing population of India (already 16% of the world population, 2% of landmass) is limiting the availability of per capita cultivable land. Increasing production to
meet the growing need for food grains can be achieved through greater emphasis on agrochemicals and their judicious use.
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