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IOL Chemicals to hire 400

April 10, 2009 11:01 IST

Ludhiana-based IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited has said it will add 400 more employees to its existing workforce of 900 by this year end. Despite the global economic slowdown, this is a big stride by IOLCP towards gearing itself for global opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, company sources said.

The new workforce will primarily take care of the company's proposed expansion with an outlay of Rs 216 crore (Rs 2.16 billion), which would include capacity expansion for its various product lines, forward integration in the chemical and backward integration in the pharmaceutical divisions to produce raw materials for its flagship product Ibuprofen, besides increasing its cogeneration of power.

"We have received certifications for exporting Ibuprofen to newer international markets. We are working at an enormous pace to increase our manufacturing capacities so as to meet the burgeoning demand and the new workforce will play an instrumental role in the execution of our plans," IOLCP chairman and managing director Varinder Gupta said,

IOCP has recently enhanced its Ibuprofen production capacity from 1,800 tonnes to 3,600 tonnes a year. The company aims to further expand the capacity to 6,000 tonnes, Gupta said, adding, "With the forward integration in the chemical division, we intend to produce 4,800 tonnes of acetyl chloride and 6,600 tonnes of MCA, which are raw materials for Ibuprofen."

Gupta said the company, which currently has a 4 Mw cogeneration plant, was constructing a new 13 Mw captive plant, which is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2010.

IOLCP is also diversifying into the manufacture of anti-ulcerants and proton pump inhibitors like Rabiprazole with a proposed investment of Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million).

It expects revenues to the tune of Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.5 billion) from its PPIs business.

BS Reporter in New Delhi, Jalandhar
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