Ion Exchange’s chemical blending factory in Bahrain

Manama : Ion Exchange, an Indian company with global presence in environment-solution sector, announced the opening of its new chemical-blending factory in the Kingdom. 

The new factory, started with an investment of US$5 million, is based in the Bahrain Investment Wharf and will serve as the chemical export hub for the region and North Arab states, creating around 30 jobs over the course of the next three years.

Rajesh Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director of Ion Exchange, said the launch of the new Bahrain facility was part of its wider strategy to ensure proximity to GCC and North Arab market, as Bahrain is located at the heart of the Gulf market with excellent logistics connections.

The company most probably will be starting its operations from today and currently employs 10 people. He said: “Now, we are covering only Bahrain and East of Saudi Arabia, but in due course, we plan to expand our sales and services and thus will be hiring more employees.”

“We have joint venture in Oman and a big team in the UAE. But all products were coming from India earlier and we will slowly start substituting them with products from Bahrain. This will help us save substantial shipping time and cost, ” Sharma informed. Currently, it takes a couple of weeks to import products from India.

He added that the company would be looking at further expansion depending on the success of the present project. “Bahrain facility will be producing 10,000 tons of chemical on an annual basis. Raw materials will be procured locally or from Saudi.” 

Ion Exchange joins a number of other Indian companies that have recently expanded operations in Bahrain as a means of serving growth in the Middle East region. Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) played an integral part in encouraging the company to invest in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Husain Rajab, Director of Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics at the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) expressed delight at the expansion of Ion Exchange’s business in the Kingdom.