Voltas and Dow Chemical Pacific (Singapore), a member of the Dow Group Companies (Dow Group), has agreed to establish a joint venture company in India, to tap the growing Water and Waste Water treatment market in the country. The proposed new company - Voltas Water Solutions - will be an equal partnership joint venture.

The company will market and distribute standard packaged Water Treatment Systems and Waste Water Treatment Systems of capacity upto 20m 3/hour, to residential and commercial complexes and light industrial markets in the Indian subcontinent. The entity's operations would include designing, procuring, testing, marketing, selling and servicing of such standard water treatment systems and waste water treatment systems.

The new joint venture will provide a branded and differentiated product line, with a focus on quality and service delivery.

Snehal Desai, global business leader for the water and process solutions division of Dow Group commented, ''We are proud to form an alliance with Voltas - a Tata company. Water treatment has significant business potential in India, and Voltas is an ideal partner with a strong brand reputation, and a wide-spread sales and service network. As part of our long-term strategy, we intend to establish the joint venture, to fully exploit the untapped potential of the Indian market. This joint venture is a significant step towards further strengthening our position in mid-market water systems in India.''

Sanjay Johri, managing director of Voltas, said, ''Water has been identified as a key focus area for the Tata group, and we are very happy to work with Dow Group, in this area. With its unrivalled know-how and technological leadership in the water treatment space, the partnership, will help Voltas Water Solutions cater to the growing water treatment requirements of the Indian subcontinent. The partnership will simultaneously leverage the brand and distribution strength of Voltas, along with the technology prowess of the water and process solutions division of the Dow Group. We will work towards establishing the joint venture as a leading provider of water treatment solutions.''

Shares of the company gained Rs 2.1, or 1.6%, to settle at Rs 133.50. The total volume of shares traded was 329,929 at the BSE (Friday).