There is significant hike in demand in wires and cables market post Covid
Post Covid, there is significant hike in demand in wires and cables market. It is further increasing due to rapid infrastructure development and various schemes implemented by the government for electrification of rural area. As far as supply is concerned, in India there are enough suppliers to cater to the demand. Unorganised manufacturers are also catering to a major section in market.
Hemant Gadhave
Vice President - Business, Panasonic Life Solutions India
How is the wires and cables market performing post Covid?
Post Covid, there is significant hike in demand in wires and cables market. It is further increasing due to rapid infrastructure development and various schemes implemented by the government for electrification of rural area. As far as supply is concerned, in India there are enough suppliers to cater to the demand. Unorganised manufacturers are also catering to a major section in market.
How do you see the future for wires and cables market in India?
The Union Budget 2022 has focused on our nation's growth with major policy announcements in the energy, connectivity, and capacity building of the economy that will further contribute to the revival of the economy. One of the biggest drivers for the wires and cables industry is the real estate and infrastructure sectors. With Rs 48,000 crore allocated to PM Awas Yojana for the year 2022-23, this will help and provide affordable homes to 80 lakh families. Despite the global pandemic crisis, the performance for this financial year in terms of growth value has been positively growing in this sector.
How is Panasonic evolving in India's wires and cables market?
Panasonic Life Solutions India is a leading player when it comes to the manufacturing of electrical construction material (ECM). We are constantly innovating products in the building wires and cables space for both residential and commercial buildings. Our range of wires and cables includes the advance flame retardant, extra-flexible flame retardant, Fire-Guard FRLSH, and two core unsheathed cable. On the industrial front, the multi-core series of cables include both flat and round variants. For communication cables, we offer telephone and switchboard cable, UTP 4Pair 6 LAN cable, co-axial cables and CCTV cables.
Our latest launch in this category is the higher size in building wire and three core flat submersible cables. In building wire category, our market share is almost 5%.
We at PLSIND design all our products with the top priority of user safety and quality. Our wires also have the product safety 'S-Mark' certification from STQC and at present, we are the only manufacturer with a safety mark for wires. Our products conform to the specified requirements of appropriate safety standards published by the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC). The presence of the SAFETY Mark also indicates that internal safeguards have been incorporated to protect against fire and electrical hazard.
In your view, how is copper price impacting the wires and cables market?
In the wires and cables business, the major cost involved is raw material cost. Any slight increase in the price of raw material affects the margins of the business. The major raw material is copper as conductor. The cost of copper has almost doubled since the last financial year. The rising price of copper is becoming a major issue for the wires and cables industry. Increase in copper price conclusively affects the pockets of the end customers as the purchasing cost of wires is increasing.
What are the latest technologies employed in the wires and cables market?
In terms of technological employment in cable, new technologies are being introduced at every level, from material unloading to final delivery. We are proud of our technical team for their ongoing efforts to investigate in-house modification, which we have done in our manufacturing process to improve quality and productivity. We are constantly striving to provide better value for money and greater client satisfaction. The material movement process within our production facility has been improved with the use of new technologies, which decreases worker fatigue.
At Panasonic Life Solution India, we provide frequent training sessions for our technical staff as well as quality circles at all sites to increase productivity, quality, and cost. Kaizen is another technique that we utilise to continuously improve the quality of our processes. At our facility, we have implemented the Kaizen system from material purchase to final shipment. Recently, our test lab acquired NABL accreditation for testing in accordance with IS 694 and IS 17048. NABL accreditation will also boost customer confidence in the quality of the product they are receiving.
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