MEL Systems and Services (MELSS), an engineering and technology solutions company serving electronics, aerospace and defence sectors, on Friday signed a joint venture (JV) with US-based Valtech Corporation to strengthen supply chain for the semiconductor and solar power sector.
The JV, called MELSS Valtech Ltd, will set up a manufacturing unit in Chennai to produce chemicals, plastic products used in the manufacture of solar cells and semiconductor devices.
These specialty chemicals and the technology is currently not in India and are entirely imported. With India’s keen focus on promoting semicon fabs and OSAT facilities, we see potential in this venture, N Ramachandran, Executive Chairman, MELSS, told businessline. We plan to start production at this facility as early as by October and in the first phase it is not very capital intensive, he added. “Our idea is to source locally as much as possible,” he said.
MELSS was earlier part of the Murugappa Group, and became an independent company in the year 1995. Besides global sourcing of capital goods and equipments needed for the semicon sector, MELSS also has business lines including factory automation, digital transformation of factories, building automatic test equipment and designing and building simulators for railways and maintenance simulators for the Indian Defence, among others.
US-based Valtech is a global specialty chemical manufacturer of high-performance products that fulfil diverse market applications for the photovoltaic, semiconductor, computer disk drive, precision optical, ophthalmic lens, medical device and instrumentation, precision metalworking, ceramics and LED markets. Their various products are used in the silicon and photovoltaic wafer manufacturing process for ingot mounting and slicing, and high-performance cleaning of precision optics, among others.
Published on April 24, 2026