Aster Silicates was originally incorporated as Arbuda Steel Private Limited on August 27, 1996 under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 vide Certificate of Incorporation bearing registration number 04-30581 issued by the Registrar of Companies, Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The name of the company was changed to Aster Silicates Private Limited vide fresh Certificate of Incorporation dated April 13, 2006. The company was converted into a public limited company vide fresh Certificate of Incorporation dated December 4, 2009 and consequently the name of the company was changed to Aster Silicates Limited. The company has been allocated Corporate Identification Number U27609GJ1996PLC030581. The promoters of the company are Mahesh A Maheshwari and Namrata M Maheshwari. The company was initially promoted to carry on the business of iron and steel under the name of Arbuda Steel Private Limited. However, the company did not pursue the iron and steel business and initiated the business of manufacturing sodium silicates under the trade name of ‘Sterling Chemical Industries’, proprietor - Arbuda Steel Private Limited and started commercial production of sodium silicate in July 1997 at the Kheda unit with a capacity of 12 MT glass/day.

Aster Silicates is engaged in the business of manufacturing of sodium silicate which includes food grade sodium silicate, special drilling grade silicate and detergent grade silicate. The company produces sodium silicate both in glass and liquid form. Food grade sodium silicate is used in the manufacturing of silica precipitate and gel which finds its applications in toothpaste, salt, cosmetics, glucose powder, tyre & rubber and pesticides, etc. Sodium silicate, (special drilling grade silicate) is also used in offshore drilling and for reactivation of old oil & gas fields. The sodium silicate manufactured by the company is also used in water-proofing, infoundries and for investment casting, paper, silica gel, textiles and detergents. Sodium silicates serve a wide range of end-use markets, including soaps and detergents, pulp and paper, paint and pigments, catalysts and metal cleaning. Sodium silicate is the generic name for a series of compounds derived from soluble sodium silicate glasses. These materials are aqueous liquids containing sodium oxide (Na2O) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) in various ratios. Varying the amount of SiO2 and Na2O gives solutions having differing properties and diverse industrial applications.

Currently, the company operates from two units in Gujarat having an aggregate installed capacity of 150 MT of glass/day. Unit-I has three furnaces with an average combined capacity of 100 MT of glass/day. All the three furnaces are triple-pass regenerative and recuperative end-fired glass furnace with multiple fuel arrangement, capable of using bio-gas, coal and also natural gas. Unit-II has a single furnace with a capacity of 50 mts of glass/day, which is also triple pass regenerative and recuperative end-fired glass furnace.

Through this proposed project, the company intends to install a specially designed triple-pass regenerative and recuperative furnace of 100 MT capacity each, capable of working on bio-gas with a facility of having duel-fuel arrangement for working on other fuels like nNatural gas, etc. The furnace shall be capable of being operated both manually and automatically, and shall also possess versatility for manufacturing sodium silicate in glass and liquid format. For the expansion of the company’s manufacturing facilities at Bharuch, the company initially intends to use natural gas from Gujarat Gas Company Limited as a source of fuel. However, gradually, it intends to shift the fuel source to biogas, and have natural gas as a standby arrangement.

Milestones:

• The company was incorporated in the year 1996.
• It started its commercial production of sodium silicate in July 1997 at the Kheda unit with a capacity of 12 TPD.
• The company modified the furnaces to single-pass regenerators in 2004-05 for fuel efficiency (Kheda unit).
• The company converted the furnace into doubl-pass regenerators in 2005-06 (Kheda unit).
• The company converted the furnace into a triple-pass regenerators in 2006-07 (Kheda unit) capable of running on coal and natural gas.
• The company modified a furnace at Kheda to allow use of biogas and other multi-fuels as alternate fuels in 2007-08.
• It started commercial production at the Bharuch unit with a capacity of 50 TPD in April 2008.
• The company signed an agreement with a German Public Company for carbon-credit offset for switching the fuel source from conventional fuel source to biogas in 2008-09 (both Kheda and Bharuch units).
• The company further modified all the furnaces in 2008-09 to allow operation using 100% biogas.