ICI Pakistan

The ICI Pakistan Limited (Imperial Chemical Industries) is located in Karachi, Pakistan. It was set up as a public limited company in Pakistan in 1952.

ICI Pakistan operates a diverse portfolio of businesses, which along with the other Company in the group, Pakistan PTA Limited, has combined sales of over Rs 50 billion, equivalent to 1 percent of the country’s GDP. With this diverse portfolio, ICI is proud to improve the quality of life of millions of people by providing services to a number of diverse industries in the Country - to name a few, they are Textiles, Glass, Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture & Livestock, Construction, Automobiles, Chemicals, Cement, Fertilizer, Rubber, Detergents, Footwear, Food & Beverages and Leather, with back-end relationships in twenty three countries. As an investment drive, ICI Pakistan is developing export opportunities in the regional markets especially in the Middle East, Iran and Central Asian states. Currently, products are being exported to six countries (Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Iran, Afghanistan, UAE, Oman).

ICI Pakistan Limited is a 75.81% owned subsidiary of ICI Plc, UK. It was set up as a public limited company in Pakistan in 1952. ICI’s presence in this part of the world, however, predates the formation of the public limited company and indeed, Pakistan itself. The Khewra Soda Ash Company, a predecessor of ICI Pakistan Limited, set up a soda ash manufacturing facility in Khewra in 1944 with a capacity of 18,000 tonnes per annum. This facility was sited next to the salt range as rock salt and limestone; two key raw materials for manufacturing Soda ash were available here in abundance.

Today ICI Pakistan’s five businesses, Polyester, Soda Ash, Paints, Chemicals and Life Sciences manufacture and sell a range of industrial and consumer products. These include Polyester Staple Fibres, POY Chips, Light and Dense Soda Ash, Sodium Bicarbonate, Paints for the Decorative, Automotive, Refinish segments, for Industrial use and Projects, Specialty Chemicals, Polyurethanes, and Adhesives and arranges manufacture, on a toll basis, of Pharmaceutical and Animal Health products. It also markets Seeds and in addition is engaged in trading in various specialized chemicals for use in industries in Pakistan.

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 to form Pakistan PTA Limited, a subsidiary of ICI Plc UK.ICI Pakistan is one of the largest quoted companies on the Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad Stock Exchanges with a paid up share capital of Rs 1.39 billion. The company has around 1,294 permanent employees and the same numbers of people provide services through contractual arrangements.

Polyester BusinessICI 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. Successive expansions and de-bottlenecking in the late 1980s, major expansion in 1996 and a recent Asset Modernization and Improvement Project in 2006, have ensured ICI Pakistan retains its strong position in this industry thus placing the Business as one of the leading fibre suppliers in Pakistan.

In recognition of the significant improvements, the Business was awarded the second best position in the prestigious “Best Factory Award” competition held by the ICI Group globally for the year 2000.

ISO 9002 certified, the Polyester Fibres Business continues to deliver qualities to customers and meet the tough challenges of the Textile Market both locally and internationally via continuous production development and innovation.

The business over the years has cultivated its competitive edge through its HR capability, customer service and image.

Soda Ash Business2006 marked the 62nd Anniversary of ICI Pakistan’s Soda Ash Plant in Khewra. While the plant dates back to 1929, 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 over 280,000 tes after commissioning to the current 50ktpa expansion. In 1995, the business commissioned a 10ktpa plant for the manufacture of Soda Bicarbonate, which was further expanded to 20ktpa. Sodium Bicarbonate is a byproduct of Soda Ash.

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, thereby accruing savings to the Nation’s foreign exchange reserves through import substitution. ICI Pakistan’s Soda Ash business is committed to remain the preferred supplier for its customers and strives to maintain its competitive advantage through the relentless pursuit of manufacturing excellence and by delivering quality products through a world-class plant.

Paints Business The Paints Business in Pakistan operates in the Decorative, Industry and the Refinish segments. It is the clear market leader in all the three segments. Quality of products and services, innovation and a legacy of branding have been the foundations of this enterprise.

With opportunities arising within the country and contiguous markets, the Business has articulated a grow aggressively strategy. The endeavor is to further strengthen ICI’s position locally while expanding into near markets. The Decorative Business, with its dominant position, aspires to restructure the market creating a super premium category with innovative products and services, leveraging the Dulux brand and capitalizing on the growing mid tier with a comprehensive channel strategy.

In the OEM and Refinish segments the focus on services and technical competence will drive differentiation supported by strategic Japanese partnerships.

With the support of the International Business, the Business has commenced opening up new markets. Exports to Afghanistan have entered the fifth year; a position in the Iran OEM market with a view to developing a full-scale operation for all the three Businesses and exports of Refinish products into the Middle East market are all progressing well.

Life Sciences Business The Life Sciences Business consists of three divisions; Pharmaceuticals, Animal Health and Seeds. Each division has a strong portfolio of leading brands and impeccably researched products which promise to improve life.

In line with its aggressive strategy to bring in rapid growth and expand, the Business is entering newer and larger segments by introducing novel and innovative products and is also actively exploring export markets for some of its brands. The Pharmaceutical division having attained leadership positions in the Cardiovascular & Oncology Market has entered into the lucrative Anti-Infectives Segment. Animal Health Division being dominant in the livestock segment with an established brand equity, has aggressive plans in place to enter and become a major player in the Poultry segment. The Seeds Division having the distinction of being the market leader in the Sunflower market and Animal Fodder markets plans to launch corn brands to tap this large market segment.

The Business is committed to providing quality and responsible care to all, be it customers, suppliers, business partners, or staff, and accredits the aggressive growth achieved in the past few years to its culture and human resources. It has made concerted efforts to create an atmosphere of openness, trust and dialogue, to value and respect individuals and to be fair.

Chemicals BusinessICI Pakistan Chemicals Business consists of a unique and diversified portfolio encompassing General Chemicals and Specialty Chemicals (formerly Uniqema).

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 an extremely diversified portfolio of fourteen major product groupings with over 250 products/variants, including sixteen well-reputed 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 diversified product range used for various applications by nearly every industry in Pakistan, prominent amongst which are power, cement, textiles, paints, pharmaceuticals, personal care, food & beverage, solvents, detergents, footwear and household appliances.

The Specialty Chemicals Segment includes the manufacturing and marketing of textile auxiliaries, adhesives, paint lattices, emulsifiers, and the trading of specialized products to a wide range of industries. It has lately added a wide range of crop protection emulsifiers and is a pioneer in the local manufacturing of powder emulsifiers and its adhesives range is widely used in the construction industry. Specialty Chemicals has successfully established export business in Bahrain and Uzbekistan for its textile range, and is working towards further expanding its sales networks in the region.

Ethical Practices The Company takes pride in its ethical principles and is considered as one of the most ethical companies in the Country. This categorization is of singular pride for the Company and its management in particular, as it operates in a South Asian environment.

Corporate Social ResponsibilityICI Pakistan’s commitment to the development of the Country and the Community, as a responsible corporate citizen, has always remained significant and a guiding principle of its doing business. The company has a very distinct CSR policy, in fulfilling its responsibilities, of serving the community it functions in.The Company, over the years, has supported and encouraged social development initiatives, which include improving and enhancing infrastructure facilities in the health care and education sectors of the Country. The Company provides significant financial support to various institutes of excellence, all over the Country. Pursuing further the initiatives it supports the local institutions in and around Khewra, Sheikhupura, Lahore and Karachi where major operations and manufacturing sites of the Company are located.

Safety, Health & Environment The goal for ICI is to be the industry leader in the production and sale of products, which benefit society. ICI provides a safe and healthy workplace for both staff and contractors, and will act responsibly towards the communities and environment in which it operates. This will be achieved by the continuous improvement of our first class SHE performance through corporate leadership.

The Company has consistently won accolades and trophies in competition with ICI Companies and Businesses around the world for its performance in the Safety Health and Environment area. The Company’s record in Safety at the work place in operating large scale manufacturing plants is outstanding. It complies with National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) at all its manufacturing sites and has an extensive health care programme for its employees. Effluent Treatment Plants at very significant costs have been constructed at the Company’s Paints Plant at Ferozpur Road, Lahore, The PTA Plant at Port Qasim Karachi and at the Specialty Chemicals Plant at West Wharf, Karachi, which ensures that all liquid and solid releases from Plant sites comply with both NEQS and with ICI Group policy requirement. Additionally, all gaseous emissions from plant sites are also treated to ensure compliance with NEQS.

External links

* [http://www.icipakistan.com/ ICI Pakistan Official Site]
* [http://www.ici.com ICI Plc Official site]