Subhash Mukadam, Site Manufacturing Director, Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd. (Dow India)
Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd combines chemistry, biology and physics to create innovative products in several key markets. Dow is a forward-thinking organisation that provides innovation to markets all around the globe with solutions that are essential to human progress. With one of the broadest technology sets spanning performance materials, industrial intermediates, and plastics, Dow delivers differentiated science-based products and solutions for customers in high-growth segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, and consumer care. Dow has set multi-decade targets to put itself on a path to achieve carbon neutrality and eliminate plastic waste.
Subhash Mukadam, the Site Manufacturing Director, Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd. (Dow India) shares the plan, “Circular economy is not just a ‘manufacturing practice’, it is a business model. Basic economics indicates that our planet can no longer carry forward our linear production path of ‘take, make, and dispose of’. As a solution, embedding a circular economy in everything we do proposes a radically different way of thinking about economic activity. It supports a holistic reduce, reuse, and recycle approach, which safeguards economic prosperity in the long term. The circular economy is all about closing resource loops, mimicking natural ecosystems in how we organise our society and businesses. But these initiatives cannot be ad-hoc – we must account for our actions’ social and ecological impact. Equally important is to focus on ‘Zero Defect, Zero Effect’. Simple steps such as reducing discharges and waste from every stage of operations enhance the environmental sensitivity of our processes and can have a far-reaching impact. Today we demonstrate this to our peers and guide them on making this transition while maintaining an astute focus on quality manufacturing with lesser defects and recycling waste products which, in turn, will make us cost-competitive.”
The industry 4.0 revolution in the chemical industry is very rapid. The adoption of Industry 4.0 offers significant strategic advantages to the chemical manufacturing industry, such as – new product innovation, faster time-to-market, cost optimisation through procurement/supply chain analytics, revenue maximisation through better demand forecasting, and a better understanding of customer needs.” Subhash explains Dow’s position here, “Businesses like Dow India have leapfrogged and invested in digital platforms for business planning and rollout. Having benefitted from the adoption of industry 4.0 in manufacturing, we are further enhancing our digital platform to stay up-to-date with changing needs of our customers. This digital strategy is anchored on three pillars – working and being closer to our customers, making work easier for employees, and optimising our speed and efficiency through these real-time, connected platforms.”
Subhash concludes by mentioning the challenges faced by the chemical industry in 2023. “The racecourse on which manufacturing and chemical companies run was dramatically altered in 2022, with energy price volatility, new policies, global economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and even geopolitical tensions in certain geographies. We need to realise that executive decision-making is not just for the chemicals industry but, in fact, all sectors. In 2023, chemical industry executives will need to balance these immediate challenges and position for longer-term growth with technological innovation, evolving customer preferences, and supply chain resilience.” He continues by sharing Dow’s steps: “At Dow India, we are well placed to introduce, support, and deliver value chains that have minimal impact on the environment in the long term. Secondly, in recent years, the industry has seen an unfortunate upward trend in accidents. As a founding member of both Responsible Care® and Nicer Globe© initiatives, I encourage the expansive 40,000 chemical manufacturing units to adapt to these self-regulation benchmarks to decrease incidents and response timelines.
Much like all industries, we too are going through issues of finding the right talent mix with efficient scientific knowledge and digital skills to incorporate the same in the form of data. Partnering with academic institutions and with constant training and upskilling are two of many steps needed to fix a gigantic issue for the industries as a whole.