I have immense pleasure in penning some of my thoughts on the vital role played by the Plastic Industry in infrastructure and nation building.

To sustain India’s high growth, huge investments are already being done and  proposed in key growth  sectors like agriculture, rural  and urban infrastructure,  telecommunications, water  and waste management, gas  and energy distribution,  construction and housing,  food processing, etc. In each of these sectors, the Plastic Industry plays a vital role.

In the Agriculture Sector, Micro-irrigation methods like Drip-irrigation, Micro sprinkler system, Sprinkler irrigation will require greatly increased quantities of PVC main line pipes, PE drip laterals, PP emitters and micro sprinklers. Plasticulture will require plastic for Mulch film, Greenhouses and Low Tunnels. Other irrigation methods will also require increasing quantities of PVC piping to carry water. In Post Harvest Management, consisting of Storage handling, Food processing and Packaging, plastics in the form of Raffia packaging for foodgrains/sugar /fertilizers, Tarpaulins, Stock cover films, Packaging for Milk, Dairy Products and edible oils, Flexible and Rigid packaging of raw and processed food products will play a critical part.

Aggressive power reforms will mean greater demand for wires and cables. Rapid growth of

telecommunicat will mean huge requirements of conduit piping and cabling.
India needs 17000 kms of pipelines (PE) for natural gas transportation by 2007. Construction and Housing sector needs Raffia bags for cement, RPVC/PP-r/CPVC pipes for water distribution applications, plastic window profiles etc. Expansion in Municipal Infrastructure for water supply and sewerage distribution will require huge quantities of plastic piping systems.

Increased demand from these sectors means that plastic processors have to expand capacities and increase productivity of existing capacities. Plastic Processing Equipment Manufacturers have the important role of helping processors to do this. To keep pace with this growth an additional 30,000 machines may be required, with huge project investments by 2010.

Equipment manufacturers will need to invest more in R&D to facilitate innovative design improvements and productivity. Machineries should be investment efficient and strengthen cost competitiveness. In this context, I sincerely appreciate manufacturers like Kabra Extrusiontechnik Ltd., who have taken this challenge head-on by introducing several innovations that give processors the capability to meet these demands.

I am sure that the Plastic Industry will rise to the occasion and fulfill its role as a facilitator in infrastructure and nation building admirably.