Chemfab Alkalis began in 1985 as a bet that cleaner technology could work in India’s chlor-alkali industry - it became the country’s first plant to adopt membrane cell technology, eliminating mercury at a time when the industry thought it unviable, and that bet eventually rewrote national regulation. Today the company runs two distinct engines from its base in Puducherry: a foundational chemicals business that makes six essential industrial inputs from salt, and a next-generation polymer pipes business built on licensed Spanish technology. The recurring pattern is visible across both - it picks a technology that others consider too hard or too early, absorbs it fully, and then scales it in modular, capital-light increments, whether that means upgrading electrolysers without adding capacity or adding pipe lines that pay back in two years. # Business segments Two engines at different stages - a chlor-alkali cash generator with captive salt and chlorine-consuming derivatives, and a national-scale OPVC pipes platform built on imported technology and government water demand - each scaling in modular steps. ## 1. Chlor-Alkali: the chemical factory that feeds on salt and sunlight **A membrane-cell plant makes six industrial chemicals from seawater salt, with captive salt fields, a chlorine-consuming subsidiary and a three-decade record of process innovation that keeps it running when rivals struggle with chlorine disposal.** - **Salt from its own fields** - the company holds over 1,670 acres of salt pans across two sites in Tamil Nadu, producing industrial-grade salt through natural solar evaporation about 30 km from the main plant, which insulates it from market price swings and ensures consistent raw-material quality. - **Chlorine disposal is the industry’s bottleneck** - caustic soda production always yields chlorine as a co-product, and the company’s ability to run its plant above 80% utilisation rests partly on a wholly owned subsidiary that consumes up to 8,000 tonnes of chlorine annually to make anhydrous aluminium chloride, turning a disposal problem into a value-added product. - **Technology upgrades without capacity bloat** - the plant’s electrolyser fleet was replaced in late 2025 with a new INEOS unit at a cost of about ₹56-57 crore, funded from internal cash, while keeping the licensed capacity flat at 180 tonnes per day; a captive hybrid power plant is set to begin supply in mid-2026, addressing the single largest manufacturing cost. - **A history of world-first process patents** - the company patented a fully enclosed system to contain accidental chlorine leaks, developed a method to make soda ash from flue gas, and most recently patented a way to remove trace iodide from brine, each innovation reducing waste, emissions or input costs in ways that competitors cannot easily copy. - **B2B supply to industries that need alkalis daily** - the six products - caustic soda lye and flakes, liquid chlorine, hydrogen gas, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorite - go into aluminium, paper, soaps, water treatment, steel and pharmaceuticals, with demand linked to alumina capacity expansion in India rather than any single customer. ## 2. OPVC pipes: a plastic pipe that behaves like metal **Oriented PVC pipes are lighter, longer-lasting and smoother than traditional iron pipes, made under exclusive Spanish licence on a plug-and-play line system that lets the company add capacity in 15 days - and government water missions are the buyer.** - **Licensed technology with limited competition** - the company imported the know-how and IP from Molecor Tecnología of Spain in 2018-19 and is one of only seven authorised partners in India, which creates a narrow competitive field for a product that is accepted in 15 states for public water projects. - **A pipe that outperforms ductile iron** - OPVC pipes last over 100 years versus 75 for iron, weigh six to twelve times less, deliver up to 30% more flow because the inner surface is smoother, and do not corrode, which lowers both installation cost and pumping energy over the pipe’s life. - **Plug-and-play capacity addition** - each new production line adds 2,500-3,000 tonnes per annum of capacity, can be operational within 15 days of arrival, and at full utilisation generates ₹45-50 crore in revenue with a payback of roughly two to two-and-a-half years; the company has scaled from one line in 2018 to six operational lines and 20,000 tonnes of annual capacity by Q3FY26. - **Government water missions are the demand engine** - the Jal Jeevan Mission, with a ₹3.6 lakh crore budget to connect rural households to tap water, and AMRUT 2.0, targeting universal urban tap connections and sewerage, have together driven demand, with AMRUT 2.0 alone approving over 1.26 lakh kilometres of new and replacement water pipelines, and OPVC pipes are now specified in tenders across states from Maharashtra to Gujarat. - **A tiny plant footprint with big output** - the Sri City factory runs with just ten permanent staff per shift on the shop floor, operates on a zero-discharge philosophy, and produces pipes from 110 mm to 630 mm in diameter - the only Indian manufacturer capable of the largest size - with 38 quality checks per batch and a BIS certificate for zero failures. # Group structure and partners **The company sits inside the Dr. Rao’s Group with two wholly owned subsidiaries - one that consumes chlorine and one that will house future pipe manufacturing - plus a Spanish technology partnership and a small stake in a renewable power venture.** - **Chemfab Karaikal Limited** - the older subsidiary, incorporated in 2019, operates the 10,000-tonne-per-annum anhydrous aluminium chloride plant that consumes chlorine from the main plant and holds a 65-acre lease at Karaikal for a deferred caustic soda project. - **Chemfab Hiitech Piping Limited** - incorporated in October 2025 as a wholly owned subsidiary, it is intended to manufacture, trade and export OPVC pipes and fittings but had not yet begun operations as of late 2025. - **Molecor Tecnología S.L.** - the Spanish licensor whose technology, know-how and IP were imported in 2018-19 and have been fully absorbed; the partnership limits authorised Indian manufacturers to seven, giving Chemfab a structural barrier to copycat competition. - **Zenataris Renewable Energy** - in May 2026 the company invested ₹14.90 crore for a 3.35% equity stake under a group captive mechanism, securing access to renewable power at lower tariffs for its energy-intensive operations.