Japanese metalworking fluids manufacturer Yushiro Chemical Industry Co. recently announced plans to expand its business in India, following the commencement of its new facility earlier this year.
We plan to expand our sales volume of metalworking oils and fluids in India by more than six times by the year 2020 compared to 2013, Ikawa Shotaro, managing director of Yushiro India Company Pte Ltd. told Lube Report Asia.
Yushiro Chemical Industry set up a sales company in India in 2008 to sell metalworking fluids such as cutting and grinding oils, forming oils and surface treatment agents. In April, the company started commercial production of metalworking oils at its new facility in Neemrana Industrial Park in the Rajasthan province of western India, as part of its plan to gain more market share in India.
The facility has a total capacity of about 6,240 kiloliters per year, but currently we are producing about 624 kiloliters per year of metalworking oils, Ikawa said.
The company invested about Rs 400 million (U.S. $6.6 million) in the new facility, which has a total area of about 21,000 square meters, Ikawa said. We plan to supply mainly to Japanese automotive manufacturers in India.
Yushiro Chemical was first listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2005 and has production facilities in other parts of Asia, including Taiwan, Korea, China, Malaysia and Thailand. It claims on its website to have the largest market share, or 70 percent, of metalworking fluids for the automobile industry in Japan.
According to the companys financial statement ending March 2014, sales of metalworking oils contributed 93.9 percent of the companys total sales, while the automobile industry represented 57.2 percent of those sales.
The companys total sales for the fiscal year ending March 2014, were 26.830 billion (U.S. $263.4 million) , an increase of 10.8 percent compared to the previous year. Sales in Southeast Asia – including India – for the same financial year increased by 46.7 percent to 2.872 billion (U.S. $28.2 million).
According to the Global Metalworking Fluids: Market Analysis and Opportunities report by Kline & Co. in 2012, India was the third largest metalworking fluid consumer in Asia, after China and Japan, and Yushiro Chemical was the top supplier of metalworking fluids in Asia.
Metalworking fluids are used during machining and grinding to help remove debris and protect the surfaces of work pieces. They reduce friction between the cutting tool and the work surface, prolonging the machines lifespan.