Hyderabad: The blast that tore through the Pashamylaram facility of Hyderabad-based Sigachi Industries on Monday morning sent the company’s scrip plummeting by nearly 15% on the bourses.Shares of Sigachi Industries crashed to Rs47 a piece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) around noon after news of the reactor blast broke. However, it recovered slightly to close nearly 12% down at Rs48.79 as compared to Friday’s closing price of Rs55.18 per share.The chemicals manufacturer, which claims to be the largest producer of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in the world, manufactures MCC at this plant. MCC is a partially depolymerised cellulose that is extracted from fibrous plant material and is used as an emulsifier, texturiser, binder, and bulking agent by the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food and nutrition industries.In a regulatory filing on Monday evening, the company said the Pashamylaram plant on Hyderabad’s outskirts was contributing around 6,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) of MCC out of the company’s total operating capacity of 21,700 MTPA.The company’s plants at Jhagadia and Dahej in Gujarat account for the remaining MCC production. Apart from these three facilities, Sigachi also has plants at Sultanpur in Telangana and Raichur in Karnataka.With Monday’s incident forcing the company to pause operations at Pashamylaram for three months, the company said it plans to optimise production at its remaining two MCC plants in Gujarat to limit the impact of the incident.The company also said the Hyderabad facility is fully insured and it is in the process of initiating the necessary claims as per standard procedures.Apart from MCC, the company also manufactures pharmaceutical excipients that are used in drug formulations to help in the delivery and stability of drugs, nutraceutical and food ingredients for dietary supplements and food products, as well as a biodegradable filter medium called filter aid cellulose at the Pashamylaram plant.