The unveiling ceremony for the book, titled Domestic Manufacturing Record, was attended by Hossein Afshin, Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, and Hossein Hosseinzadeh, Chairman of PGPIC’s Board of Directors, during the official opening of Iran Petrochem 2025.
According to PGPIC’s public relations office, Taghi Sanei, Deputy for Production Oversight, Supply Chain and Operational Excellence at PGPIC, said the publication was developed in response to the petrochemical industry’s high technological complexity and the sweeping restrictions imposed by sanctions on the import of equipment, catalysts, technologies and chemical materials. He noted that these constraints accelerated a systematic shift toward domestic manufacturing across the sector.
Sanei explained that petrochemical companies identified capable domestic manufacturers through structured processes, acknowledging that while localization involved engineering and operational risks, trust in Iranian producers ultimately delivered successful outcomes.
Drawing on years of industry experience, he said sanctions have never forced petrochemical plants out of service, adding that Iran has now reached near self-sufficiency in catalysts, chemicals and spare parts, with intense competition emerging among domestic suppliers—some of whom now outperform foreign counterparts.
He noted that dedicated domestic manufacturing units have been established across all PGPIC subsidiaries, and that equipment data has been integrated to create synergies, given the similarity of assets used across petrochemical complexes. Each localized item, he said, is documented with detailed information on original foreign suppliers, sanction status, domestic replacements and economic benefits.
Sanei added that the book covers the evolution of domestic manufacturing initiatives up to the end of 2023 and will be updated every two years as a shared reference for all group companies, enabling faster localization and knowledge transfer. The publication currently details 254 mechanical equipment items, 65 chemical materials and catalysts, and about 94 electrical and instrumentation components.
He said PGPIC approaches localization through both internal coordination—defining roles across maintenance, engineering, research and procurement—and external engagement by identifying and classifying capable manufacturers under a dedicated localization directive that prioritizes critical items.
Sanei noted that PGPIC’s approved supplier list is continuously updated, with successful manufacturers invited to future tenders and, in some cases, supported through multi-year open-order contracts to ensure market stability.
Highlighting the scale of progress, he said PGPIC’s domestic purchases rose from approximately 1.7 trillion rials in 2022 to 4.3 trillion rials in 2023, about 6.7 trillion rials in 2024, and 4.7 trillion rials in just the first half of 2025. Over the past three years, 3,196 parts were localized in 2022, 3,779 in 2023, 4,344 in 2024, and a further 2,053 items were registered in the first half of the current year.
Sanei stressed that successful localization requires a comprehensive, regularly updated national reference system to verify manufacturers’ capabilities and performance records, significantly reducing managerial risk and procurement lead times. He cited job creation, foreign exchange savings and lower production costs as key benefits of domestic manufacturing.
He also warned against misuse of mandatory localization regulations by firms lacking genuine technical capabilities, calling for a national, officially endorsed system—modeled on PGPIC’s framework—to distinguish qualified manufacturers from non-qualified ones and to minimize risks across all industries.
Concluding his remarks, Sanei said full self-sufficiency would represent a major national achievement, noting that domestic manufacturing not only conserves foreign currency but also delivers one of the greatest contributions to employment for Iran’s younger generation.