I wrote in the November issue of FRP Today about a boat tragedy in Kerala. Since then, the state minister in charge announced in a public meeting that Kerala will no longer buy fiberglass (FRP) boats. I have spent 40 years of my life working on composites and from my experience; I can definitely say that FRP is better than other materials used for boat building. I am very sad to find that the very state from where I come from has to reject FRP boats. Why such a thing does happen?
To find the answer, one has to look into the simple example of the way sambar is being made by different restaurants. Sambar is a tasty south Indian curry which is very popular not only in India, but also in many other countries through the many Indian restaurants. If this sambar is intentionally made with rotten potatoes, tomatoes or onion or if the chef does not use the right spices out of ignorance, or the sambar is not cooked well, it is natural that the customers will stop using sambar or run away to other restaurants. If they get bad sambar everywhere, they have no other way but to quit using sambar. A good restaurant will learn how tasty sambar is being made in south India and make similar curry, may be with slight modifications, to win the customer confidence. Building customer confidence and providing value for money are the best approaches to retain business rather than looking for quick profit.
The story of FRP in India is like that of the sambar. The buyer or user will be told that FRP products are good and they are successfully being used in advanced countries, but some of the products that they ultimately get in hand may be like the rotten sambar. When the right fibres, resins and chemicals are intentionally or by ignorance not used in the right proportions and when product is made without proper design and curing, the quality, performance and durability suffer. The buyer looks for products that perform and has no time or expertise to look into the materials used and/or the manufacture. For them, FRP is only one of the materials but may be with better performance. If the buyer is not getting that extra performance or gets bad products from most sources, they will have no option other than stop using that product. This is what happened in Kerala and there is no reason to blame the Kerala decision.
The best way out is that the industry must try to regain the customer confidence first by giving a correct specification of the products made of good materials and good design and then by supplying quality products.
I took up the matter with the FRP Institute which is the right body to take appropriate action for the first part namely supplying the correct and authentic information which the customer can rely upon and I have also suggested a plan. If nothing happens, I shall put the plan directly to the industry for them to act. Of course, supplying the quality product as per specification is the manufacturer's responsibility.
Your journal FRP TODAY is completing this month nine years of fruitful service to the industry. We are glad to say that we have been constantly upgrading our services by bringing world class information and by equally highlighting the problems and pitfalls. We assure you that your journal will continue to work for the healthy growth of this industry and for building the confidence of the buyers.
Dr. N.G. NAIR
Honorary Editor
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