Ashland opens technical facility in India to improve skin and hair offerings

Ashland Specialty Ingredients opened the state-of-the-art facility at Jaswanti Landmark, located in the heart of Mumbai, stating it 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.

Closer to market​

Speaking at the opening ceremony, John E. Panichella, group operating officer and Ashland Specialty Ingredients president, 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.

“Looking at the number of requests for assistance from companies in India over the past several years, it is obvious there are a number of advantages, for both Ashland and our customers, with a local technical team in Mumbai,”​ he said.

“Today, we dedicate the new Ashland Care Specialties Technical Center to all of the companies in the region who have asked for our help in driving new products to market – products that will better support changing consumer needs in India, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.”​

Better serve key markets​

The Mumbai facility has dedicated formulation laboratories to hair and skin care, and the New York-based company will use local knowledge of the Indian consumer to meet the specific needs of the region.

It adds to Ashland’s other R&D facilities around the world, and according to Nandkumar Dhekne, vice president, Asia Pacific, Ashland Specialty Ingredients, adding a technical center in Mumbai will prove beneficial for the Indian and global market.

“With some of the most sophisticated technical talent residing right here in Mumbai, we expect the Mumbai technical center to serve customers well in India and Southeast Asia,”​ said Dhekne.

“We also anticipate that the Mumbai technical center will simultaneously generate great ideas that will be channeled back into our global innovation funnel.”​