The Aditya Birla Group made its foray into the value-added oleochemicals sector in September 2005 through the acquisition of an integrated fatty alcohol manufacturing facility, located 340km south of Manila at Jose Panganiban in Camarines-Norte region of the Philippines.

The facilities comprise 30,000tpa of natural detergents alcohol, 55,000tpa of fatty acid, 6,500tpa of glycerin and 80,000tpa of oil pre-treatment plants. The fatty alcohol plant of Pan Century Surfactants Inc. (PCSI) employs state-of-the-art low pressure hydrogenation technology from Davy Process Technology, UK, with flexibility to process both coconut and palm kernel oil. This is the first plant in the world to commercialise this technology which is significantly superior to competing fatty alcohol technologies. It supplies fatty alcohol to leading multinationals.

This cutting edge technology, coupled with the locational advantage of the world’s largest coconut oil producing country with access to cost-effective uninterrupted supply of coconut oil feedstock, gives PCSI superior product quality with a competitive advantage.

The plant is equipped with a captive pier capable of receiving 40,000 DWT ships, providing the option for receipts and dispatches by sea route through deep sea tanks. It is also equipped with a captive power plant to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity.

The products fatty alcohol, fatty acids and pharmaceutical grade glycerine have their application in the detergents, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and chemical industries.