Business

'At Cosmo We Aim To Enrich Lives With Chemistry, Responsibly'

Tell us about Cosmo Speciality Chemical’s journey so far. What was the objective of moving into textile chemicals, from the film business? How has the performance been so far? Cosmo Speciality Chemicals is a 100% subsidiary of Cosmo Films Limited. The company was established in the year 2020 with a vision to become a preferred speciality chemicals company, with constant innovations for a better and safer tomorrow. The brand purpose of Cosmo Speciality Chemicals is to enrich lives with chemistry, responsibly. The company is backed by strong research capabilities with an R&D facility equipped with sophisticated analytical instruments that supports the scientists to characterise developed products at molecular levels. The R&D team consists of highly qualified and experienced scientists from the best institutes of India, USA, Korea, Japan and Europe. In the beginning, we started manufacturing masterbatches as part of backward integration for the film manufacturing business. The backward integration will further strengthen our innovation capabilities for our films business, and provide unique product solutions to our global customers. The textile chemicals market in India is extremely scattered, with very few international players. The process of textile chemicals manufacturing in India is extremely harmful for the environment, and we thought of entering the textile auxiliary market with eco-friendly and sustainable products for the pre-treatment, dyeing auxiliaries and finishing of textiles. We have already launched 22 new products in the textile auxiliary market, and have started getting substantially big orders for the same. You have a strong focus on innovation and the environment. Can you tell us about some of your latest innovations, and what more is in the pipeline? How do your products help in value addition in the textile industry? As a company, Cosmo Speciality Chemicals has always focused on engineering eco-friendly product solutions which are effective and environment friendly. We know the extent of pollution caused by chemicals, the harm they bring to our water bodies and the environment as a whole. Thus, Cosmo Speciality Chemicals has come up with solutions which are eco-friendly, but also helps reduce water wastage. The company has recently launched 22 new products in the market for dyeing, finishing and pre-treatment of textile auxiliaries. Some of the unique products developed by the company include: Ecoclay

An eco-friendly multifunctional clay base product for pre-treatment of cotton yarn knits and terry towel
Allows almost 35% reduction in the BOD & COD levels in the wash effluent
Non-foaming and extremely effective in removing processing oils and excess auxiliaries and other impurities from the substrates

Cosmotex AVB

An anti-bacterial, anti-viral finishing agent and effective against the coronavirus
Gives an invisible and durable anti-microbial and anti-viral effect
Provides anti-static property to the surface
Non-leaching behavior in waste water stream

Wetofast LD

A wetting agent and a detergent for all types of substrates
Gives a uniform re-wetting and whiteness
Low foaming so it can be used in continuous machines with high liquor turbulence
APEO and NPEO free
Good dirt suspension
Suitable for cotton and its blends

Superwash POL

Unique soaping agent for after dyeing process
Improves wet fastness properties like wash & rubbing of dyed / printed goods on whaling off
Effective in hard water and suitable for a wide range of pH

We are now working towards launching industrial adhesives by the end of this year. How do you support the claims of eco-friendliness of your products? The chemical industry is one of the biggest polluters of air and water. There is a major need to shift to eco-friendly and sustainable chemicals, and that is what we are doing. Our focus on creating sustainable and eco-friendly products is what differentiates us from other players in the market. Also, we have an expert team of chemical scientists who are working day and night to engineer best in class products which accentuates the quality of the fabric, giving it a great finishing effect, without hampering the texture or the color of the fabric. Tell us about some of your unique products? While all our products are innovative in their own way, some of the products which have stood out in the market are Eco Clay and Microenz BS. Eco Clay is a clay based multifunctional product where the customers’ ETP load is reduced by nearly 30%. It further reduces the BOD and COD levels by eliminating the need for additional auxiliaries in treatment baths i.e. wetting agent, chelating agent, surfactants, lubricants and defoamers. It’s an eco-friendly product for pre-treatment of cotton yarn knits terry towel and woven. Microenz BS is an enzymatic bio scouring that saves energy & time compared to traditional scouring which happens at a high temperature. Some of the advantages of using Microbenz BS over other products are-

No degradation of cellulose
Lower weight loss
Gentler on fabric
Lower yarn coefficient of friction

What is your strategy to face competition, especially from the MNCs, who dominate this market? India is one of the biggest manufacturers of textiles, and hence there is a significant potential for pre-treatment, dyeing and finishing textile auxiliaries in the Indian market. What aids the potential growth is the lack of streamlined players in the market. Most of the big companies are international and there is a need for a local player to establish a structured process for chemical manufacturing. Tell us about some of your environmental sustainability measures? Every step in the textile chain focuses on different aspects of sustainability, for textile chemical manufacturers. We, at Cosmo Speciality Chemicals, are developing products where we can reduce energy and water consumption during the process of chemical production. In a step towards sustainability, we are developing products with the use of raw materials which are sustainable and eco-friendly. We have taken numerous steps towards sustainability which includes our attempt to reduce our carbon footprint by improving our truckload capacity. We are looking at every possibility to reduce water consumption and increase rain water harvesting to be water neutral in all of our plants. Apart from these, we use solar power at all plants as well as wind power to reduce the need for finite resources. Two exemplary features of Cosmo Speciality Chemicals? The exemplary features of Cosmo Speciality Chemicals are -

Our R&D is developing products towards sustainability (Biodegradable & Ecological)
Cosmo Speciality Chemicals is multifunctional and performance oriented
Process optimization (Energy, Water and Time saving)

Two important business goals for you in this financial year? Being a global leader in films for packaging, labelling, lamination and synthetic paper, we want to be a preferred speciality chemicals company in the domestic as well as international market and constantly innovate products for a better and safer tomorrow. Two business principles that are the reasons for Cosmo Specialty Chemical’s success in this business segment? Strong research capabilities to create truly eco-friendly and sustainable products, and customer centricity.