Page 106 - Tata_Chemicals_yearly-reports-2019-20

catering to human and animal health under the brand tata nQ. the Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the Company’s
flagship product lines of tata nQ – FoSSenCe® and goSSenCe® operations
are prebiotic dietary fibres that promote the growth of gut the Company has a global presence with manufacturing
microbiome and improve digestive & immune health. nutritional operations in four continents. the immediate impact of the
Sciences business delivered outstanding performance where the Covid-19 pandemic with respect to customer and governmental
revenue increased by approximately 59%. reactions to the crisis have been varied.
under Material Sciences, the Company launched new silica grades for In India, the Company was affected by national lockdown in
diverse application segments/customers and strengthened channel a number of ways but the recovery is fast underway due to the
partner and distribution network across India. number of steps undertaken by the Company. the Company’s
largest site in Mithapur, gujarat continued to produce tata Salt with
energy Sciences is the newly seeded business in emerging
areas where the Company intends to establish its niche with no disruptions and are operating at higher than normal volumes in
pioneering solutions. order to supply the market with this essential product. production
of soda ash and sodium bicarbonate is recovering after a lull in
tCl has invested in nurturing businesses that have emerged the first phase of the lockdown as our customers’ own operations
from its IC at pune, such as HdS and nano-Zinc oxide products come back onstream. together these three products represent
under the Material Sciences portfolio. tYSIl™ is its conventional approximately 90% of the revenue from the site.
silica brand for tyres and other rubber goods applications, while
taFoSIl™ specialises with functional modification of silica surface In India, the Company’s two newer operations in Mambattu,
chemistry for rubber applications. treadSIl™ is HdS for use in nellore (andhra pradesh) and Cuddalore (tamilnadu) were shut
ultra-High and High-performance tyres. taVerSIl™ is used for down as per the government directives and remained shut,
non-rubber applications like food, feed, detergents, oral care and except for essential safety and maintenance work. the sites started
agri Chemicals. under energy Sciences, the Company focusses on limited operation in May 2020 following the relaxation of local
building new-age energy materials for li-ion cell manufacturing, restrictions and are currently meeting customer demand in full.
battery recycling and battery active production. given the scale of their current operations, this would not have a
material impact on the financials of the Company.
rICH has invested in the development and commercialisation of
three new formulations for the benefit of the farming community. our service to farmers and the agriculture sector was largely
Zygant is a granular insecticide formulation targeted at paddy crop unaffected barring early logistics issues which were quickly
protection. ayaan is a novel fungicide combination formulation, resolved.
introduced for the first time in India for disease management and uK operation has not suffered any disruption in production or sales
yield improvement of paddy. Sarthak is a fungicidal combination with customer demand remaining strong. export markets served
formulation proven to be highly effective for vegetable crop by the uS operation have witnessed a slowdown in part due to
protection. the Seeds r&d runs a breeding programme across Covid-19 restrictions in the markets serviced. In Kenya, while there
multiple crops and has a well-established pipeline that includes was no disruption in production related to Covid-19, despatches
nursery and trials of new seeds. It has set a 5-year evaluation plan, to customers in India and Se asian countries were delayed for a
where the Company periodically monitors the performance of period of time on account of complete or partial lockdowns in
each stage in the pipeline for its commercial viability. the Biotech these regions.
lab established under the Seeds division continues to support
requirements of multiple internal departments such as breeding, all safety protocols related to Covid-19 as advised by the
seeds supply chains and seeds quality control. It assists in government are being implemented and observed at the plants.
improving operational efficiency and explores new opportunities the Company adopted a work from home policy for non-site
in the Seeds business. during FY 2019-20, under the biotechnology based employees.
programme, genetically Modified (gM) traits were developed for
maize and cotton having insecticides and herbicides tolerance. the Company operates within the business to business (B2B)
products are under regulatory trial and would be followed by field sector with no direct to consumer sales (B2C). Many of the
trials and lab data generation. Company’s products are classified as essential serving the food,
hygiene, pharma and container glass sectors where demand has
Sustainability as a practice is at the core of all of the Company’s not suffered significantly due to the pandemic.
activities, including the Corporate Social responsibility initiatives.
the Company integrates environmental, social and ethical the Company continues to closely monitor national and
principles in all of its business functions. international sourcing and supply positions to identify any

104 I Integrated annual report 2019-20