Home » Ashland opens new technical center in Mumbai

Ashland opens new technical center in Mumbai

Adds to global network of R&D laboratories dedicated to personal and home care markets

MUMBAI, India (Oct. 11, 2012) — Ashland Specialty Ingredients, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc., headquartered in Kentucky, today dedicated a new Care Specialties Technical Center in Mumbai, India, to better support producers of personal and home care products in India and Southeast Asia.

The state-of-the-art facility at Jaswanti Landmark, located in the heart of Mumbai, will serve as a focal point for the research and development (R&D) work Ashland conducts on behalf of customers, with operations in the region. Activities at the new facility will center on bringing new personal and home care innovations to market and providing technical support that may be required to meet consumers’ rising expectations for higher-performing products.

Presiding over the opening ceremony, John E. Panichella, group operating officer and president, Ashland Specialty Ingredients, said with approximately 15-percent year-over-year growth in personal care expenditures, India is a market that increasingly requires the formulating expertise of Ashland’s technical team.

Principle among the activities in Mumbai is collaboration with marketers and manufacturers on new product innovations directed at consumer needs in the region. In addition, the Mumbai technical team will provide preservative efficacy studies and general formulation support upon request. The center will also serve as headquarters for key account managers in India and as a base of operations for distributor training and technical seminars.

The Mumbai technical center expands Ashland’s global network of R&D and technical support facilities dedicated to the advancement of personal and home care products. The new facility and 10 others around the world include centers of excellence in the United States, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and China, and technical laboratories in Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.

With close to 2 billion consumers in the region, India and Southeast Asia are home to one of the fastest-growing populations in the world. Ashland is committed to making the strategic investments necessary to develop innovations that reflect the trends and requirements of personal and home care trends in the area.