Aditya Birla Group (Mumbai, India; www.adityabirla.com), a leading Indian multinational conglomerate, today announced the expansion of its U.S. Advanced Materials business with the acquisition of Cargill Incorporated’s (Wayzata, Minn.; www.cargill.com) 17-acre specialty chemical manufacturing facility in Dalton, Ga. The acquisition continues Aditya Birla’s expansion in the U.S. manufacturing sector, a key aspect of Aditya Birla’s growth strategy, which now totals over $15 billion in investment.
“This acquisition represents Aditya Birla’s strategic entry into the U.S. chemicals industry, extending the business model of our other successful manufacturing businesses in the United States, including Novelis and Birla Carbon,” said Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Birla Group. “Our growth strategy in the United States is anchored in a commitment leverage our deep manufacturing expertise to support the revitalization of the growing American manufacturing sector. We look forward to investing in and expanding this foundational facility and identifying other strategic assets to drive growth.”
With this acquisition, the Advanced Materials business welcomes 50 employees. Advanced Materials plans to expand the facility’s current capacity of 16,000 tons per year to over 40,000 tons over the next two years, affirming the business’s commitment to local operations and job creation. The acquisition was executed through Aditya Birla Chemicals (USA) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Ltd.
“This acquisition reinforces our commitment to expanding our Advanced Materials business in the United States and globally. Establishing a local presence in the U.S. will enable us to serve regional customers more efficiently and collaborate closely to develop tailored solutions. We are excited to leverage this facility to enhance its capabilities and broaden our product offerings for our customers,” said Rajesh Balakrishnan, CEO of Aditya Birla Group – Advanced Materials business.
Advanced Materials will continue to manufacture the plant’s current output of formulated resins, curing agents, reactive diluents and polyaspartic resins for the marine, industrial coatings, and flooring industries, which include epoxy resins, modifiers, curing agents, and other specialty chemicals sold under the brands CHEMCURE®, ChemMod®, Altor®, Acme Shield®, and ChemRes.
Additionally, Advanced Materials will introduce products for the automotive, renewable energy and aerospace industries, including its patented chemistries to enable recycling of epoxy composites used in wind, sports goods, pressure vessels and other applications.