Heubach president Rainer Heubach said: "We are looking to expand capacity to eight-ten thousand tonnes in the next few years. But this will only be possible if the current restrictions in vogue at Ankleshwar to expand capacity are lifted." HCL has a current installed capacity of four-five thousand tonnes per annum.

The company is a 100 per cent export oriented unit and is a global centre of manufacturing for Heubach.

Heubach Colour is currently exporting pigments to the tune of Rs 70 crore to Rs 75 crore and was hoping to achieve Rs 100 crore turnover in 2001, according to Heubach Colour managing director Ravi Kapoor.

While the facility at Ankleshwar was currently manufacturing organic pigments, Mr Heubach said that the company would go in for non-toxic anti-corrosive pigments as soon as requisite legislation in India regarding toxic products like zinc chromate and red lead were in place.

Heubach Colour has also developed a new technology which transforms toxic waste of phathalocyanine green into highly pure aluminium hydroxide, according to Mr Kapoor. The company had invested $2 million in the project, he added.

Aluminium hydroxide was an intermediate input in manufacturing of antacid drugs and Heubach Colour was exporting it to the Middle East. The company had also given it for sampling in the European market, according to Mr Kapoor. He, however, added that the company had no plans to get into pharmaceutical formulations as a business opportunity.

Last year, Heubach Colour announced a manufacturing collaboration with Avecia which involved transfer of Avecia's manufacturing technology,under license, to the former. According to Mr Kapoor: "This has increased our manufacturing capacity by 50 per cent to 60 per cent." The company is also in the process of setting up the first dioxycin laboratory in India, Mr Kapoor added.