ICI Pakistan

ICI Pakistan Limited, previously known as Imperial Chemical Industries, (Urdu: آئی سی آئی پاکستان لمٹیٹد‎) is a Pakistani chemical company which is based in Karachi, Pakistan. It manufactures polyester, pharmaceuticals, agrichemicals, and soda ash.

ICI Pakistan
TypePublic
PSX: ICI
IndustryChemical
Founded1944 (1944)[1]
HeadquartersKarachi, Pakistan
Key people
Muhammad Ali Tabba
Feroz Rizvi[2]
Number of employees
1,107 (2014)
ParentYunus Brothers Group (75.8%)[1]
Websitewww.ici.com.pk

In 2012, Yunus Brothers Group acquired the company for $152m from the Dutch paints giant AkzoNobel.[1]

History

The company's history dates back to British colonial-era when it was established as Khewra Soda Ash Company in 1944. They set up a soda ash manufacturing facility in Khewra, Punjab, Pakistan with a capacity of 18,000 tonnes per annum. This facility was sited next to the Khewra salt range, Punjab, Pakistan in as rock salt and limestone; two key raw materials for manufacturing soda ash were available here in abundance.[1]

In 1995, ICI Pakistan Limited set up a USD 490 million PTA manufacturing facility at Port Qasim, near Karachi, which was commissioned in 1998. In 2001, the business was demerged or spun off to form Pakistan PTA Limited, a subsidiary of ICI Plc UK. In 2008, Dutch paints and chemicals giant AkzoNobel bought out the global parent company Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).[1]

ICI Pakistan is one of the largest quoted companies on the Pakistan Stock Exchange with a paid up share capital of Rs 1.39 billion. The company has around 1,294 permanent employees and around the same numbers of people provide services through contractual arrangements.

Businesses

Polyester

ICI Pakistan pioneered Polyester Staple Fibre (PSF) technology in Pakistan through its investment in a 12,000 tonnes per annum PSF Plant commissioned in 1982 in Sheikhupura, near Lahore. Polyester fibre is used in cars, bedding and clothes.[3]

Soda ash

While the soda ash plant dates back to 1939, commercial production began in 1944. Over the years, the capacity of the plant has been increased through expansion in line with market demand. The total capacity of the plant today is 425,000 tons per annum. In 1995, the business commissioned a 10ktpa plant for the manufacture of Sodium bicarbonate, which was further expanded to 20ktpa in 2004 and 30 ktpa in 2015. Besides, the business also has a production capacity of 500 tons per day of dense ash (Na2CO3.H20), which is an essential raw material for glass making.[3]

ICI Pakistan’s soda ash business caters to approximately 70% of the country’s total Soda Ash requirement. The Business mainly uses indigenous raw materials and locally made equipment. The plant is located in Khewra, near the Khewra salt range.[3]

Life Sciences

The Life Sciences Business consists of two divisions; Pharmaceuticals and Animal health.[3]

Chemicals and Agri Sciences

ICI Pakistan Chemicals and Agri Business consists of General Chemicals and Specialty Chemicals (formerly Uniqema) as well as Agriculture Products ranging from seeds to pesticides.[3]

The General Chemicals Segment includes trading and polyurethanes and is involved in the import, manufacturing, sale and distribution of industrial chemicals. The trading segment comprises a portfolio of fourteen product groupings with over 250 products/variants, including trading partners such as National Starch & Chemicals, Huntsman Polyurethanes, Ineos Chlor, Nalco, Huntsman Tioxide, supplemented by imports of complementary product lines from companies in the USA, Europe and the Far East. This Segment markets a product range used for various applications including power, cement, textiles, paints, pharmaceuticals, personal care, food & beverage, solvents, detergents, footwear and household appliances.[3]

Infant milk formula

Since 2014, ICI Pakistan is importing, marketing and distributing selected Morinaga Milk Industry of Japan's infant milk formula products under the brand name of NutriCo Pakistan.[4][5]

Factories

ICI Pakistan operates factories in the following cities:

Awards and recognition

In 2018, ICI Pakistan was awarded the Gallup Pakistan's 'Gallup Great Workplace Award'.[3]

References
  1. "Mergers and acquisitions: Lucky Cement led group buys ICI Pakistan for $152m - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune (newspaper). 31 July 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  2. Feroz Rizvi, Former Chief Financial Officer on Bloonberg.com website Retrieved 5 September 2019
  3. Parvez Jabri (14 September 2018). "Meet ICI Pakistan Limited: A Company of Substance". Business Recorder (newspaper). Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  4. Exciting times for ICI Pakistan Limited Business Recorder (newspaper), Published 25 January 2017, Retrieved 5 September 2019
  5. Foreign firm to invest Rs7bn in ICI Pakistan Dawn (newspaper), Published 28 July 2019, Retrieved 5 September 2019
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