Lords Chloro Alkali is a North Indian chemical manufacturer built on a simple structural advantage: it makes caustic soda and chlorine-based products in a region that consumes far more of these chemicals than it produces, so local customers would rather buy from the company than pay steep freight to bring material in from western India. The business began in 1979 as Modi Alkalis & Chemicals, was taken over by the Dhir family and revived in 2006, and then saw the family consolidate a 74.72% controlling stake in 2021 to run it as a tightly held operation. Everything the company does flows from a single philosophy: turn a basic chlor-alkali plant into a “Green Chemical Company” by feeding it with captive renewable power and converting every by-product into something saleable rather than something to dispose of. # Business segments Three engines run from a single 84-acre campus in Alwar, Rajasthan - a caustic soda core that generates the chlorine co-product, a downstream chemicals business that absorbs that chlorine into higher-value goods, and a captive renewable-energy build-out that cuts the cost of making both. ## 1. Caustic soda manufacturing: the plant that powers everything **Caustic soda is the main product by volume and the economic anchor, sold as a liquid to industries across North India where the company’s location gives it a freight wall of roughly INR 6,000-7,000 per tonne against competitors shipping from the west.** - **The region is short on supply** - North India’s total caustic soda production capacity is about 1,600 tonnes per day, and LCAL holds a 20% share of that market with no new competitor capacity announced for at least the next two years. - **The process makes three things at once** - electrolysis of salt splits brine into caustic soda (sold as 32% or 47% lye), chlorine gas, and hydrogen, so the plant’s economics depend on finding a home for all three. - **Customers are large industrial buyers** - aluminium companies use it to digest bauxite, paper mills use it to break down wood and bagasse, and textile makers use it for bleaching; named clients include Hindustan Unilever, Godrej Consumer Products, SRF, and Century Pulp & Paper. - **Technology keeps energy use in check** - the plant runs membrane cells with Zero Gap Technology from Japan’s Asahi Kasei, which cut power consumption and lifted production performance by over 40% compared with older designs. ## 2. Chlorine derivatives: turning a problem into a product line **Chlorine is hazardous to store and sometimes sells at negative prices, so the company built a downstream chemicals business that consumes roughly 63% of its chlorine internally and turns it into specialty products with steadier demand.** - **Chlorinated paraffin wax is the anchor derivative** - CPW is a flame retardant and plasticizer used in PVC pipes, cables, rubber, and paints, and the company has expanded its capacity from an initial 20 tonnes per day to 50 TPD, with a further expansion to 100 TPD approved. - **The CPW expansion protects caustic soda output** - by locking in chlorine absorption, the company can run its main plant at high rates without worrying about chlorine-market swings disrupting production. - **Other derivatives fill out the portfolio** - sodium hypochlorite goes to water treatment and disinfection, hydrochloric acid serves steel pickling and pharmaceuticals, and hydrogen gas is both sold for hydrogenation and burned internally as a clean boiler fuel, replacing furnace oil alongside LPG. - **A new acid plant is coming** - a 100 TPD sulphuric acid unit was approved in late 2025 for launch in FY 2027-28, adding a chemical intermediate that broadens the product slate beyond chlorine-based goods. ## 3. Captive renewable energy: the cost-cutting engine underneath both businesses **Power and fuel are the single biggest cost in making chlor-alkali chemicals, so the company is building its own solar and wind-solar plants to bring that cost down and to underpin its “Green Chemical Company” positioning.** - **Solar is already running** - a 16 MW plant in Bikaner supplies about 10% of the company’s power needs, and a 21 MW expansion at the same site will lift total captive solar to 37.5 MW DC by mid-2026. - **A hybrid wind-solar project adds more** - the company took a 10.10% stake in a 10 MW group-captive project for its plant located in Alwar, Rajasthan, which qualifies as captive consumption under electricity rules and diversifies the renewable mix beyond sun-only generation. - **The target is aggressive** - once the 21 MW plant is online, renewables will cover 40-45% of total power requirements, and the medium-term goal is 80%. - **The effect on cost is already visible** - power and fuel dropped from 51% of the production cost structure in FY25 to roughly 42% in FY26 as renewable capacity came on stream. # Group structure and partners **Lords Chloro Alkali is a single listed company with no subsidiaries, no joint ventures, and no layered holding structure - one plant, one segment, one balance sheet.** - The company is listed on the BSE since 1982 and on the NSE since August 2023, operating solely in the Chloro Alkali segment from its 84-acre campus at Matsya Industrial Area, Alwar, Rajasthan. - The Dhir family consolidated control in 2021 through a voluntary open offer that took the promoter group’s holding to 74.72%, with Mr. Madhav Dhir and Ms. Srishti Dhir as key shareholders. - The only external equity stake is the 10.10% holding in CGE II Hybrid Energy Private Limited, acquired as part of the power supply agreement for the 10 MW hybrid renewable project - it is a captive-energy arrangement, not a diversification play. - Key managerial personnel include Managing Director Ajay Virmani, a chartered accountant and former president of the Alkali Manufacturers Association of India, and Whole Time Director (Technical) Deepak Mathur, a chemical engineer with over 40 years in chlor-alkali plants.