New Innovation & Technical Support Manager

The HMC Management Team is excited to welcome Ms. Deepali Manish Kelekar as our new Innovation and Technical Support Manager. She comes to HMC from our JV associate company LyondellBasell with broad-based technical experience and a comprehensive understanding of the markets and needs in our region.

Khun Deepali will take over the responsibilities of Khun Andreas Neumann who has now concluded his contract with HMC and returns to LyondellBasell in Europe. We sincerely thank him for his service over the period of his tenure.

Please join us in wishing Khun Deepali well as she proceeds in this important technical role for HMC Polymers. As an introduction, she had a conversation with HMC Communications:

Q1. Please tell us about yourself and your previous work with LyondellBasell (LYB)

I am a polymer engineer by training and started my career with NOCIL, a petrochemical company in India in 1992 and later joined LYB in 2002. So practically for more than 25 years, I have worked in technical service, product and application development for Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Catalloy and Polybutene-1 products. Before joining HMC in April 2021, I was in charge of Application Development and Technical Service for ISC, Africa, Middle East and the Turkey region.

Q2. What qualities and experiences do you think are essential for your role as Innovation & Technical Support Manager?

It important to “Listen” to our customers and to understand dynamic market trends. “Collaboration” is the key: Close co-operation with value chain partners is very important to bring innovative solutions to the market for our customers. For the success of innovation: We need to be receptive to new ideas and then choose the most efficient solution from a techno-commercial point of view with medium-to-long term sustainable business in mind. Without “Teamwork” and strong support of internal stakeholders, it is not possible to bring innovative products to market.

Q3. What are your interests outside of work?

I like to travel and enjoy being with nature In particular I love to see wildlife and go trekking. I am foodie person and love to eat and cook too. It's fun to experiment with different recipes. Other interests include reading, listening to music and watching movies also.

Q4. What has surprised you, culturally, in Bangkok or HMC so far?

I am really touched by the warm welcome. The COVID situation has limited the interaction but I can vividly see the respectful and humble nature of Thai people infused by the rich Thai culture and heritage. The people are very caring and always ready with help and support.

Q5. For HMC how would define what does our success look like?

HMC is already recognized as a market leader in quality and innovation. When customers refer to HMC grades as a benchmark with differentiated or superior performance, I would say that HMC is successful in carving out its own niche in the PP market space using its capabilities of technological strength and staff expertise.

Q6. What is the outlook for HMC Innovation for the remainder of 2021?

HMC is continuously striving to innovate and rejuvenate its product portfolio to address fast moving market requirements. During 2021 the focus is on expanding the medical grades portfolio to meet the increasing requirement of syringes and labware as well as other healthcare products due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Sustainability and environmental issues remain a significant focus for the medium-to-long term in particular the subject of Plastic Waste Management. In addition, we are working on special grades for flexible packaging which can help to develop mono-material solutions for BOPP and CPP processes. Addressing the growing consumer awareness concerning food contact regulatory issues, HMC has already introduced non-phthalate grade solutions for food contact applications. Stay tuned for even more exciting products with the new Spherizone production line coming on stream in 2022.

Q7. When your period with HMC is over, how would you like to be remembered?

I would like to be remembered as a person who contributed to the success of the admirable HMC Polymers team in building a specialty and differentiated product portfolio. I am also looking forward to being a part of and furthering the sustainability initiatives already started at HMC. On a personal level, I hope to make lots of friends in Thailand.