Contribution of IPCL to petrochemical industry in Gujrat

ESTABLISHED in 1969, IPCL represented India's attempt to develop self-reliance in the field of petrochemicals. Until then the Indian market was dominated by multinational companies such as Hoechst, ICI (then the Imperial Chemical Industries) and Union Carbide. The economies of scale associated with the industry and its capital-intensive nature were significant barriers to the entry of private firms. IPCL specialised in the production of the basic building blocks, where manufacturing scales were crucial. This led to the establishment of hundreds of small-scale units producing other downstream products.

By 1979, IPCL had established the first integrated petrochemical manufacturing complex at Vadodara in Gujarat manufacturing Synthetic Organic Chemicals, Plastics, fibre and fibre intermediates from petroleum feed stock. In the early 1980s, IPCL established its second plant at Nagothane, to use natural gas from the Bombay High oil fields as a feedstock. In the early 1990s the company established its third complex at Gandhar in Gujarat.