Managing director of ANSA Chemicals, Andy Mahadeo, (second from left) shakes hands with Mike Antony, the president of Proplant, shortly after the signing of a five year agreement for the distribution of water treatment chemicals. ANSA McAL chairman, Norman Sabga, (left) Gerry Brooks, group chief operating officer of ANSA McAL (centre) and Aneal Maharaj, group finance director, are also in the photograph. Photo: Shirley Bahadur

The ANSA McAL group on Tuesday signed a five-year agreement with Proplant, a fast-growing Houston company, for the distribution of process chemicals for water treatment throughout the Caricom region. The agreement was signed by Mike Antony, the president of Proplant and Andy Mahadeo, the managing director of ANSA McAL Chemicals, a wholly owned subsidiary of ANSA McAL, at the boardroom of the Tatil building on Tuesday. The agreement is in two phases, comprising a core agency contract which will allow ANSA McAL Chemicals to distribute, market and provide service for the chemicals produced by Proplant. “But there is also a clause in the agreement that in the future we intend to manufacture these chemicals in T&T and that if that is done the kind of partnership and shareholding each company would have,” said Antony.

Andy Mahadeo, the managing director of ANSA Chemicals, said he expected that within two years the new partners would get to the point where it is feasible for them to go into the manufacturing of the chemicals locally. The global market for performance chemicals is US$10 billion, said Antony, explaining that the chemicals are organic polymers, which are used in treat water for industrial processes to prevent scaling and corrosion in boilers and in cooling water. He said the main market for the chemicals locally would be the country’s ammonia, urea, methanol and AUM plants as well as the electricity generation facilities and the desalination plant. The chemicals also treat potable water and the effluents of plants. Noting that the local conglomerate already produces process chemicals for the regional market, Antony said: “We believe this will be a natural partnership and we hope that it is going to grow into a huge enterprise which will serve the Caribbean and beyond.”

Speaking at the signing ceremony, ANSA McAL chairman and CEO, Norman Sabga, said: “We are very proud of this association, particularly where Proplant is at the cutting edge of technology and is improving the technology. “I agree with Mike that this is a natural progression for ANSA McAL Chemicals, where we are already in the business, to deepen our process to go further downstream.” Sabga noted that the chemicals produced by Proplant will enhance the performance of the equipment used in T&T’s petrochemical industry providing them with a “huge benefit.” He said that he believed the partnership would capture a significant part of the local and regional markets for process chemicals “because the chemicals we will be offering are far more effective than what is already in the marketplace.” Based on that, Sabga said: “We are very excited by this new agreement and we see significant success going forward.” The ANSA McAL chairman said the chemicals are becoming more and more relevant “in terms of protecting the environment and the equipment used in industrial plants.”

Trinidad Guardian