Unilever to invest €50m to set up deodorant facility in India

Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever has revealed that it would invest €50m to set up its first Asian aerosol deodorant manufacturing facility in Khamgaon, Maharashtra.

The company said that it has used the visit of British Prime Minister David Cameron in Mumbai to announce its future plans of its Hindustan Unilever business.

According to the firm, the investment in the new facility in India complements its committed investment of €70m to build new homecare liquids and distribution facilities in Thailand and €75m investment to build a new home care factory and expanding existing manufacturing plants in South Africa, which were announced earlier in 2013.

The investment will be spread over three years and production capacity will be gradually scaled up to generate direct employment for over 150 people and indirect employment for about 200 people, the company said in a statement.

Products produced at the new plant will offered in the Indian market, as well as in other South East Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Unilever chief supply chain officer Pier Luigi Sigismondi said the firm operates through a centralised supply chain method, through it the firm gained a consistently, sustainable and profitable growth.

"This investment in India is part of our broader expansion plans to help us achieve our ambition of doubling our business, whilst halving our environmental impact," Sigismondi added.

"The Khamgaon plant is one of the thirty new factories being built by 2015 and we will utilise the latest technology to deliver the increased quality products our consumers demand whilst meeting the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan commitments."

Unilever operates in India through its arm, Hindustan Unilever, the country’s largest consumer goods maker, employing more than 16,000 people and has 40 manufacturing plants across the country.