CEO Radhesh Welling said Nogopor at the Hyderabad stage wants to become the world’s leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) in performance or specialized chemistry and materials science.
“Now, we have identified some unique and relevant features that we need to develop or acquire,” Wheelin said. “We have a huge potential upside here… Unlike Agrochem or Pharma, this is not a crowded space.”
CDMO provides a variety of services to pharmaceutical companies in drug development and manufacturing.
According to Statista, the global specialty chemicals market will be worth $640.8 billion by 2023 and is expected to grow to $939.7 billion by 2031. According to a December report, India’s overall chemical industry is worth $250 billion.
On Wednesday, Novitall announced the acquisition of the U.S.-based Pressure Chemicals company, which has its branches as Belgian-based Minafin Group, and a leading provider of high-pressure and specialized chemical services, in an undisclosed quantity.
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“(pressure chemistry) has some very unique capabilities for professional high-end polymerization, organic synthesis, etc… many of the functions in India are completely non-existent,” said Wheelin.
He added: “The main reason is to get some of these unique and relevant features. By doing so, we can actually strengthen the overall value proposition of customers we want to target in the performance chemistry and electronic chemistry space.”
Wheelin said that although its large number of customers are located in the United States, Nogopor is not exported directly to the United States. He added that as Nogopor hopes to target other global customers, stress chemistry acquisition will help build trust in the U.S. market.
Wheelin said stress chemicals have a medium-sized manufacturing presence in the U.S. and the company may evaluate to scale later.
Nogopor is also evaluating other strategic acquisitions. “There are some in Europe, very few in India, but most of them are in the United States … there are some things at all stages,” Wheelin said.
In 2023, the U.S.-based Bain Capital private equity in an undisclosed amount formerly known as Porus Labs.
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Building a partnership
Some of the challenges facing global expansion in the specialty chemical space include the features the companies can offer, Wheelin said, adding that intellectual property (IP) is closely watched by customers. Most performance chemistry companies focus on specific markets.
Wheeling said most performance chemistry companies are focused on specific markets, so companies can offer the capability gap, adding that intellectual property (IP) is closely watched by customers.
“They are very reluctant to actually send out IPs. They have partnerships with some local companies in the United States, such as the ones we have obtained, but usually, they don’t like to work with companies outside the Western Hemisphere,” Wheelin said.
He added: “We have identified certain customers that we may wish to work with and have identified certain features that are very relevant to these customers.”
Wheelin said Neuino’s goal is to grow at an annual rate of about 20% over the next few years. Crisil Ratings Expect Nogopor’s Revenue to Increase ₹110-120 billion in 2024-25 ₹2023 – 7.63 million in 24 years. “Operating margins also witnessed the expansion of high-margin products and support of higher contributions, thus increasing speeds above 20%,” Crisil Ratings said in a Feb. 28 note.
Nogopor has not submitted its financial statements in 2024-25.
The largest Indian companies in specializing in chemicals include SRF Ltd, which has revenues of ₹13,149.7 million (48% of which came from its chemicals business) in FY24, Aarti Industries Ltd ( ₹$70.12 billion in revenue for fiscal 24) and Pi Industries Ltd ( ₹Rs 76,655 crore revenue for fiscal 24.
Welling expects demand for India’s specialty chemical industry to increase in about a year or two due to the ongoing trade war between the United States and China. “The company will see a reliable Indian partner as part of a long-term strategy,” he said. “If you also own an Indian company with a footprint in the US, that would be an added benefit.”
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