Calcutta: Himadri Speciality Chemical has drawn up an ambitious project to catapult itself to the top league of global manufacturers of speciality carbon black and Bengal is at the heart of this plan.

The company plans to set up a 200,000-tonne capacity in phases involving an investment of Rs 1,000 crore over the next five years. The first phase of 60,000 tonnes will be operational by March 2019, Anurag Choudhary, chief executive officer of Himadri, said.

"We want to be one of the top five speciality black players in the world. The entire investment will materialise in Hooghly's Mahistikry. Apart from meeting India's requirement, the unit will be a hub for export to the US, the EU and East Asia," Choudhary said.

The global production of speciality carbon black that finds use in racing tyres, wires & cables, moulded rubber goods, plastics and fibre, is estimated at around 1.2 million tonnes and growing around 3 per cent.

The domestic requirement of 70,000 tonnes, mostly met by imports, is, however, growing at a faster clip of 6.5 per cent.

The global capacity is dominated by a few players such as Cabot Corporation of the US and Orion Engineered Carbons of the EU because of the entry barrier on technology.

Choudhary claimed that Himadri's in-house R&D team has developed 40 new grades of carbon black that will be brought to commercial production at the new plant. Eighty per cent of the production will be exported.

The company, which is the third-largest commodity carbon black player in India after Phillips Carbon Black and Aditya Birla Nuvo with a 17 per cent market share, has so far put in Rs 1,500 crore in the Bengal plant which started off as a manufacturer of coal tar.

Over the years, the company added new products - coal tar pitch, naphthalene, carbon black - by processing tar.

The expansion will be mainly funded through a mix of debt and internal accruals even as Himadri shareholders in December passed an enabling resolution for issuance of equity worth Rs 1,000 crore.

The phenomenal run in mid-cap stocks on the bourses has helped Himadri's market cap to rise to $1 billion. The stock closed at Rs 152.45, up 3.67 per cent, on the BSE on Wednesday.