At present, India's share of composites production is only 1.5 % of the total world production. China's share, on the other hand, is about 12.5 % and soon, China may overtake Japan and become the Asian leader in composites production. It is also projected that by 2015, almost 50 % of the world's composites requirements will be produced by the Asian region. The question is “can the Indian composites industry grow sufficiently to catch up with other countries and take a good share of this expected production?”
We do have a 20 to 25 % annual growth which is good, but not sufficient to take up the composites production anywhere nearer to that of Japan, China or even Taiwan. A 40 % annual growth can help to double the production every two years. Such a growth rate is possible if the industry can achieve about 10 to 15 % exports and by selling more composites within India. To sell composites in India, awareness about the virtues of composites must be created among the Indian industries as well as among the Indian middle class with purchasing power. The technological and raw materials base must also parallely develop to support the growth.
A growth rate of this kind can be achieved only by a strategic short and long range planning followed by concrete action. At present, any of the stake holders, namely, the raw materials manufacturers and suppliers, composites manufacturers, user industries or their associations as well as the government agencies do not talk about or even think of such a planned development.
Indian composites industry is constituted by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) spread all over the country. While the MSMEs of the general Indian industries contribute about 45% of manufactured output, composites MSMEs in the country, in the absence any major industrial units, are responsible for the entire production of composites. Micro enterprises are not suitable for an advanced composites system. For further growth, therefore, we need many more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to come up with new and innovative products and manufacturing processes.
How to have more SMEs?
Several steps are to be undertaken to stimulate growth in this sector which are to be properly identified. Some of the possible steps are presented below;
l Attract engineers and managers by providing more information about composites and their industrial potential, train entrepreneurs and equip them with facilities to start new industrial ventures. TIFAC used to conduct such awareness programmes at different parts of the country. I do get several requests from young engineers for help to start new units, but without a proper support mechanism created either by government and or by the stake holders, youngsters can not be pushed into such new ventures.
l Provide technical and financial support to develop new products. Here again, the efforts put by TIFAC through the 31 projects that it executed in the advanced composites programme is commendable. It has helped the industries to develop several new products. Similar schemes must come up in all states.
l The Ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises must recognize composites as a potential advanced materials system needed for the country and have special plans to support the SMEs.
l Plastics export council can identify products that can be exported.
l The associations and professional societies of composites industry must change from their passive role to a pro-active role for creating new industries and for upgrading the skills of existing industries.
l Composites industries are potential employment generators. It is the cheap labour available in Asia that brings more production to this region. The mechanization of the composites production must be for helping the workers to make better quality products and not for replacing them.
Dr. N.G. NAIR
Honorary Editor
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