POLYMERS Communiqué l October - November 2014 1

Plastics raffia or woven sack sector is one of the key segments of the plastics processing industry in India, contributing to the growth

of consumption of commodity plastics like polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

The plastics woven industry can be classified into the following major product packaging categories depending upon the end use applications:

l Polyolefin woven sacks / bags for packaging of fertilizer, cement, food grain, sugar, petrochemical products, poultry / animal feed / agricultural produces, resins and chemicals etc.

UPDATE

Raj Kumar LohiaChairmanLohia GroupKanpur

l Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBC)l Tarpaulins of different types and applicationsl Leno bags for fruit and vegetable packagingl Wrapping fabrics l Other tailor-made applications of woven fabrics

in postal, parcel, courier, goods transportation / shipping / logistic areas etc.

l Geotextiles / agri-textiles

Industry Success Measures It is estimated that around 1.5 million tonnes of PE and PP materials consumed by the raffia sector (including masterbatches, additives used in the processing of polymers) in India, account for 15% of the total polymer consumption in the country. Key determinants for the

Industry Growth Demands Skilled Manpower

The Raffia Sector UpdateThe significance of ‘Skilled Training’ is also highlighted by our

Hon’ble Prime Minister in one of his speeches when he stressed upon the 3 ‘S’, ‘The more we focus on skill, scale and speed, it will

increase India’s growth trajectory’.

POLYMERS Communiqué l October - November 20142

success of any industry or manufacturing sector are the ‘3 M’ – Material, Machinery and Manpower.

Material: The 1st Key Element for SuccessIt is a fact that significant progress has taken place in investment and augmentation of the 1st ‘M’ - Plastics material manufacturing capacity in India, sector wise growth of PE and PP. The CARG of PP is projected to be about 12% (Consumption of 3.1 million tonnes in 2012-13 is likely to increase to 4.89 million tonnes in 2016-17). The raffia sector together

with masterbatches and additives used in the raffia industry may have the share of 35 - 37%. Similarly, PE material consumption was about 3.4 million tonnes, projected to reach to 4.94 million tonnes by 2016-17 @ CARG of 9.6%, share of PE for raffia and associated applications in woven sacks or fabric should be about 14-15%.

In 2012-13, the total manufacturing capacity of thermoplastic polymers in India was over 10 million tonnes and it is expected that by 2016-17, additional capacity of 4.8 million

tonnes would be available in India with expansion of existing petrochemical capacities as well as new entrants to the polymer manufacturing business.

Machinery: The 2nd Key Element for SuccessAs regards the 2nd ‘M’ - Machinery, last decade (from 2000-01 to 2012-13) has witnessed good growth in the number of plastics processing machinery in India, installed capacity as well as polymer consumption.

As far as the plastics processing machinery for the raffia sector is concerned, it is estimated that tape plants with additional capacity of about 2.1 million tonnes are likely to be added (addition of about 1500 new tape plant lines) by 2020, may even grow further subject to Governmental policy on phased dilution of JPMA 1987 and preferential treatment to cost effective plastics woven bags for food grain packaging

TTRC: The Training Institution Exclusively for the Raffia SectorConsidering the significance of the 3rd ‘M’- Manpower for sustainable growth of the raffia sector, Lohia group envisioned establishing a training institution exclusively for the raffia sector at Kanpur, India and named it as Technical Training & Research Centre (TTRC). Lohia group has allocated around 7 acre land for creating TTRC as an independent division of the group, with objectives blended with CSR commitment to impart skills to unemployed youth for employment generation as well as to support the growing raffia industry by providing skilled and trained manpower.

The TTRC campus has a state-of-the-art industrial workshop equipped with the latest in technology (plant and machines for practical training), classrooms, library, testing laboratory etc. and is appreciated by the industry.

Since TTRC commenced its operation in September 2012, TTRC has trained around 250 operators in different disciplines (Loom Operators, Fitters, Winder Operators, Tape Plant Coperators), 60 Supervisors / Executives (Fresh as well as working personnel from the industry) and 10 new entrpreneurs venturing into the raffia sector. TTRC adopted a systematic approach to create a pool of trained and knowledge based manpower in the raffia industry, as represented in Figure 1.

The USP of TTRCl The first formal technical training and support centre for the

raffia industry in India.l Experienced pool of faculty and instructors, having vast

experience in the raffia industry.l Curriculum and methodology based on vocational training

model (70% practical and 30% theory).l Industrial ambience and exposure imparted to trainees as

Technical Training & Research Centre (TTRC), Kanpur

There is an imperative need to set up 4 - 5 regional training centres in different regions, where the raffia industry is situated.

POLYMERS Communiqué l October - November 2014 3

by Government procurement agencies. It is expected that the plastics processing machinery sector will add additional 70,000 machines by 2020.

Alike any other plastics based products, plastics raffia or woven sack sector is also dependent on end use consumers for packaging applications viz. cement, fertilizers, food grains, sugar, sand / minerals / chemicals / petrochemicals, tarpaulin, geotextiles etc.

The expected future growth in infrastructural projects and investment in real estate projects may facilitate increased consumption of cement thereby demand generation of plastics woven bags for packaging of cement. In addition, fertilizers and food grain packaging, FIBC / jumbo bags for bulk packaging, leno bags for packaging of potato, onion, orange etc. add to the demand prospects of woven sack or raffia products.

‘Pre-employment cum Induction Training’. l ‘Learner License’ model of training ensures the trainees to pick

up operating or supervisory efficiency within a short period of 1 - 3 months depending on industry placement.

l Residential facilities (Hostel) for trainees within the training centre campus.

l For working executives, supervisors and operators, an apt institution for skill enhancement and knowledge upgradation to improve their working performance in the industry.

Typical applications.

Figure 1

Multiplicity of skills and knowledge among

operators

Operators of all disciplines (Tape plant, winder,

looms) know about basics of plastics as well as

testing

Job rotation / Flexibility of placement in any

department.

Skill enhancement / Upgradation of working

staff of the industry

Supervisors with science and engineering

background

Refresher courses for existing / working

manpower

Building Skills Among WorkforceA System Approach by TTRC

Lohia Group’s vision is to increase TTRC capacity and capability of skill training, increase capacity every year to reach 5000 trainees per year in next 10 years, add

new courses in the training portfolio of TTRC as per the need of the raffia industry

Skill Training Model / Approach of TTRC

POLYMERS Communiqué l October - November 20144

Region Name No. of Seating Number of Seating Total ITI/ Total Government Capacity Private Capacity ITCs Seating ITIs (Govt.) ITCs (Private) Capacity

Northern 797 122,354 2,173 252,753 2,970 375,107

Southern 424 95,404 2,914 325,702 3,338 421,106

Eastern 201 50,138 1,212 197,885 1,413 248,023

Western 822 204,842 904 86,410 1,726 291,252

Grand Total 2,244 472,738 7,203 862,750 9,447 1,335,488

Total Number of Seating Capacity in ITI / ITC (Government and Private)

Table 1Source: Ministry of Labour and Employment, Annual Report, 2011-12

Manpower: A Key Element for SuccessAs narrated above that on 2 ‘Ms’ (material and machinery), reasonable investment and considerable efforts have been put in by stakeholders. However, in the area of the 3rd ‘M’, i.e. skilled and trained operators, supervisors for the raffia industry, it has been overlooked, leading to the problem of inadequate capacity utilisation, low productivity, inferior quality and tendency of the industry to be caught under ‘contractor raj’ system or fully dependent on ‘outsourcing’ of their complete production operation, as there is big gap in demand and supply of blue collar type of trained operators or shop floor supervisors.

Incidentally, over the last 10 - 15 years, India started producing huge number of engineers from thousands of engineering institutions spread across India and graduates coming out of these institutions have high aspiration of being an ‘Engineer’, but majority of them are not employable due to poor skill-sets - a reality expressed by many industry leaders from time to time.

The scenario of operator and technician training

courses from Government and Non-Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) / Industrial Training Centre (ITC) institutions is shown in Table 1, which points out that 1.3 million blue collar technicians are produced every year from these institutions. As regards the needs of the raffia sector, they need to be further skilled for being well accepted to deliver and grow. The raffia journey of over 3 decades today, continues to demand skilled manpower.

In ConclusionThough the Lohia group has taken an initiative and moved forward in skilling youth in the area of woven sack manufacturing, yet the demand of manpower is very high and a single institution may not be able to cater to the all India requirement of skilled workforce. Hence, there is an imperative need to set up 4 - 5 regional training centres in different regions, where the raffia industry is situated. The significance of ‘Skilled Training’ is also highlighted by our Hon’ble Prime Minister in one of his speeches when he stressed upon the 3 ‘S’, ‘The more we focus on skill, scale and speed, it will increase India’s growth trajectory’.