Yes. Many plants in Gujarat make intermediates to customer specifications. This ranges from tightening the limits on a standard product to running a new route for a molecule they have never made.
The work goes well when you give a clear specification, the plant has the right equipment and skills, and both sides agree the steps before anyone starts.
Three levels of custom work
It helps to know which kind of request you are making:
- A tighter grade of a standard product, such as lower moisture or a limit on one isomer, which most competent plants can attempt.
- A known molecule the plant has not made before, using a published or standard route, which needs development time and a trial batch.
- A new molecule or your own route, which is closer to custom synthesis or toll manufacturing and needs strong process control and protection of your know-how.
Our articles on custom synthesis and toll manufacturing cover the last two in more detail.
What a plant needs from you
Give the supplier enough to judge whether they can do it:
- A written specification with test methods, limits and named impurities.
- A reference sample of material that works in your process, if you have one.
- Your expected annual volume and order size, since this decides whether the work pays for itself.
- Any regulatory needs, such as REACH status or documents your customers ask for.
- Packing and labelling requirements.
How the process usually runs
First the plant reviews feasibility and confirms whether its reactors, materials of construction and effluent treatment suit the chemistry. Then it makes a lab sample for your approval.
Next comes a trial batch at plant scale. Test it in your own process, not just against the COA. Only then agree a commercial supply contract, with the approved specification attached.
Development can take weeks or months, depending on the chemistry and how busy the plant is. Agree milestones in writing, so both sides know when to stop if results are poor.
Development costs, tooling and any dedicated equipment should be agreed in writing at the start. A real quote comes from a sourcing review once the scope is clear.
Checks before you commit
Visit the plant before the trial batch. Check that it holds a Consent to Operate covering the product, since adding a product can need a consent amendment or environmental clearance. Check its lab can run your test methods.
If you share process knowledge, sign a confidentiality agreement first. Our article on protecting your process when outsourcing intermediates explains how.
Next step
We find plants with the right chemistry and equipment, audit them and manage the trial batch with you. To discuss a custom intermediate, book a free sourcing review.