LATICRETE Debuts India R&D Center
HYDERABAD, India – LATICRETE International Inc. opened a new global research and development center here last month.
Local dignitaries and customers gathered on Dec. 15 to help open the 13,500 ft² facility, located next to LATICRETE’s manufacturing facility in Hyderabad.
The center will focus on new product development, product performance improvement, local raw-material analysis, competitive product evaluation and technical support, plus training for salespeople, international partners and customers. The facility will be directed by Dr. P. Arjunan, vice president of research and development.
Additionally, the building will be showcased as a major reference project to potential clients such as project engineers, architects, designers, developers and others that could benefit from the performance of LATICRETE tile- and stone-installation materials and methods.
The Bethany, Conn.-based company’s products played a leading role in the center’s construction, including the installation of 1,500 ft² of granite, 1,500 ft² of Italian marble and 7,500 ft² of porcelain tile. The entire building used LATICRETE tile and stone products to offer durability, aesthetics and low maintenance.
In particular, LATAPOXY® 310 Stone Adhesive was used to direct adhere the Italian marble as the cladding for the reception ceiling, measuring roughly 800 ft². Each stone was 3’ X 3’ and weighed approximately 80 lbs. These stones were adhered to metal grids using the LATAPOXY 310 Stone Adhesive spot bonding method.
“Our R&D center is the most modern and best equipped centre in the construction chemical industry in all of India,” said Muralidhar Yadama, Managing Director of MYK LATICRETE India.
“There are a number of challenges in this part of the world that we welcome,” stated Erno de Bruijn, president of LATICRETE’s International Division. “With our new R&D Center, we can continue to fine-tune our offerings of state-of-the-art products for the installation of tile and stone, creating them to meet the specific local needs of customers.
“Additionally, in accord with our company’s heritage, our R&D Centre based in India will help us in our continual quest to disseminate educational materials and other helpful information relative to the usage and installation of tile and stone materials.”
