CSC has launched 22 new products for dyeing, finishing
Cosmo Speciality Chemicals is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Cosmo Films Ltd. The company was established in 2020 with a vision of acquiring the textile auxillary market in India and abroad. Pankaj Poddar, Chairman & CEO, Cosmo Speciality Chemicals (CSC), spoke to Fibre2Fashion about the growth prospects of speciality chemicals industry, the new developments and product launches planned by the company for the current financial year.
What are the latest developments at Cosmo Speciality Chemicals?
The company has recently launched 22 new products in the market for dyeing, finishing and pre-treatment of textile auxiliaries. Some of the unique products developed by the company are as below-
Ecoclay: Ecolay is an eco-friendly multifunctional clay base product for pre-treatment of cotton yarn knits and terry towel. It allows almost 35 per cent reductions in the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) levels in the wash effluent. Ecolay is also non-foaming and extremely effective in removing processing oils, excess auxiliaries and other impurities from the substrates.
Cosmotex AVB: Cosmotex AVB is an antibacterial and antiviral finishing agent and effective against human corona virus. It gives an invisible and durable antimicrobial and anti-viral effect and provides anti-static property to the surface along with non-leaching behaviour in wastewater stream.
Wetofast LD: Wetofast LD is a wetting agent and a detergent for all types of substrates. It gives a uniform re-wetting and whiteness and is low foaming making it useable for continuous machines with high liquor turbulence. The product is APEO and NPEO Free, is a good dirt suspension and is also suitable for cotton and its blends.
Superwash POL: Superwash POL is a unique soaping agent for after dyeing process which improves wet fastness properties like wash and rubbing of dyed / printed goods on whaling off and is effective in hard water and suitable for a wide range of pH.
Apart from textile chemicals, Cosmo Speciality Chemicals also started manufacturing masterbatches as part of the backward integration for our films business, and we are working towards launching industrial adhesives by the end of the year 2021.
What benefits will your new dye transfer inhibitor--Superwash POL provide to the textile industry?
Superwash POL is innovated to prevent bleeding and staining of the coloured textiles along with improving the wet fastness properties like wash and rubbing of dyed textiles. It also helps avoiding tinting of ground printed goods and requires a very less amount to perform as compared to competition.
What do you identify as the main trends affecting the speciality chemicals industry, and how is Cosmo Speciality Chemicals responding to these?
We at Cosmo feel that the industry needs innovation and sustainability in their products. We have a strong R&D department which consistently works on providing the best solutions for the industry.
In the textile lab, CSC has world class synthesis, formulation and application testing facilities which develops new molecules based upon sustainability and economically formulate them as per market need then validate the products in application laboratory with the benchmark samples.
Our analytical lab is equipped with state-of-the-art instruments which are utilised to characterise the chemical and physical properties of the formulated/synthesised material.
What is the current market size of speciality chemicals in India and worldover? At what rate is it growing?
The Indian specialty chemicals sector is expected to increase at a CAGR of 12.4 per cent, from US $32 billion in 2019 to an estimated US $64 billion by 2025. The specialty chemicals constitute 22 per cent of the total chemicals and petrochemicals market in India. The demand for specialty chemicals is expected to rise at a 12 per cent CAGR in 2019-22.
Where is the raw material sourced from and where does the production happen?
Our R&D, application lab and production facilities are in Aurangabad and all the raw material is sourced from MNC’s which are compliant with Restricted Substances List for Finished Products (RSL) and Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL).
What are the latest researches going on at your end in your niche?
We are currently focused on low temperature soaping, durable silicones, encapsulated finishes of water repellents.
World over sustainability has become a new movement. How can this be implemented right at the base where the actual manufacturing starts in the textile industry? What role are you playing in driving sustainability at your end?
Every step in the textile chain focuses on different aspects of sustainability. We, at Cosmo Speciality Chemicals, are developing products where we can reduce energy and water consumption during textile processing. In a step towards sustainability, we are developing products with the use of raw materials which are sustainable and eco-friendly.
We have taken numerous steps towards sustainability which includes our attempt to reduce our carbon footprint by improving our truckload capacity. We are looking at every possibility to reduce water consumption and increase rain water harvesting to be water neutral in all of our plants. Apart from these, we use solar power at all plants as well as wind power to reduce the need for finite resources.
Who are your major customers in India and abroad?
We are present is more than 100 countries and are currently associated with export houses in Delhi and Mumbai.
Which of your speciality chemicals business is seeing the highest growth and why?
Since most of the brands are moving towards sustainability, we are witnessing growth of our chemicals business with sustainable products. CSC being focused on sustainability, we will be the forerunners of the industry. We aim to save total applied cost of a customer (time, energy and water) with innovations such as ecoclay, biscouring enzymes and other enzymes and Superwash POL.
What are your growth expectations from the company for the next two fiscals?
We are expecting a healthy growth at the rate of 30 per cent YOY but more importantly we want to put our foot impression in textile industry more strongly. We aim to become preferred supplier in textile industry.
What are Cosmo Speciality Chemicals main priorities moving forward?
We want to be a preferred speciality chemicals company in the domestic as well as international market and constantly innovate products for a better and safer tomorrow. We are also looking at some major diversifications and plan to launch atleast 10-15 new products by the end of the financial year 2021.
We also plan on entering the packaging and lamination adhesives segment with various adhesives for internal use and for customers in the global market.
