India: Grace Construction Products, an operating segment of W R Grace & Company has started manufacturing from a new facility near Delhi, India. Development at the site, which manufactures cement additives as well as concrete admixtures that are sold to cement producers in northern India, is part of Grace's ongoing growth strategy to invest in emerging regions.

Grace's cement additives help cement producers to improve grinding efficiency and overall cement quality, helping to build stronger structures in more energy-efficient ways, which helps to reduce manufacturing costs. In the past India has had issues with sub-standard cement and concrete products, including the much-publicised collapse of a bridge in New Delhi at the Commonwealth Games site in 2010.

The new facility is the most recent addition in a series of emerging market investments in the construction industry for Grace. The company has opened similar facilities in China, Colombia, Panama, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam since 2010.

"We continue to invest in emerging economies in order to meet our customers' needs," said Andrew Bonham, President of Grace Construction Products. "The new facility will allow us to enhance service and delivery times to our customers in Northern India."

The manager at the new plant, Ajay Kapoor said, "Our number one priority is to provide a safe environment and safe practices at the site. We must ensure our company culture extends throughout all our facilities from safety to product quality to community outreach."