This special feature was undertaken to present the glimpse of trends, challenges & growth opportunities in wire & cable industry. The speakers were selected randomly to make a perfect blend of the views presented by them. In order to make it more elaborative we consolidated their company information into different heads like capacity, Product Manufactured, turnover, product application etc. Hoping that this feature will give a positive outlook to the industry.
.
.
Mr. R. Sridharan (Sr. Vice President)
M. P. BIRLA GROUP
1. Birla Ericsson Optical Ltd.
2. Vindhya Telelinks Ltd.
3. Birla Furukawa Fibre Optics Ltd.
Kolkata, West Bengal
www.birlacorporation.com
.
.
.
Capacity (In all 3 companies)
• Optical Fiber Cables — 82272 KMS
• Jelly Filled Telephone Cables — 15025000 CKMS
• Insulated Cables, Cords & Flexes — 50000000 MTRS
• Automotive Wires & Cables — 200000 KMS
• Co-axial Cables — 10000 KMS
• Optical Fiber — 3.5 million Fiber KMS
Product Manufactured
• Optical fiber cables
• Jelly filled telephone cables
• Insulated cables, cords & flexes
• Automotive wires & cables
• Co-axial cables
• Copper cables
• Instrumentation cables
• LT power cables & aerial bunched cables.
Turnover
2009-10: Rs. 393.80 crores
2008-09: Rs. 480.17 crores
Trends
• Growth in demand for Optical Fiber Cables.
• Virtually no off-take for PIJF Copper Telecom Cables.
Challenges
• Erosion in margins
• Pricing pressure
Growth Prospects
• 3G will drive the demand for Optical Fiber Cables.
• Broadband will also act as growth driver for Telecom Cables.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Harsh Pagay, COO (Telecom & Power)
TERACOM LIMITED
Kundaim, Goa
www.teracom.in
.
.
..
.
.
Capacity
1.5 Million Fiber Km
Product Manufactured
• Optical Fiber Cables
• FRP Rods
• LT Power Cables 1.1 KV
• MV Power Cables 66 KV
• House Wires
• Wireless Telecom CPEs
• IFWTs
• MW Telecom Equipments
Turnover
Rs. 800 crores
Trends
The fiber optic cable market in India has grown rapidly since 2003 on account of increasing mobile & broadband subscribers in India. Entry of global telecom operators has given impetus to growth. In 2009 -2010 there was a robust demand on account of data revolution fuelled by 3G & FTTH which continues in year 2011-12. The Indian government has proposed aggressive targets in the 12th five year plan in order to increase the broadband & mobile penetration, especially to improve the rural tele-density. As compared to other developed countries and our neighbors China, India has to come a long way to match growth in Telecommunications. India’s fiber consumption is approximately 13-14 million fiber Km as compared to China’s consumption of 80 million fiber Km.
Similarly there is a huge deficit of power in India. Target for additional power generation for 11th plan (2007-12) was 78700 MW which has been revised to 62374 MW and till now only 50% of the revised target has been achieved and if everything goes well there are chances that 60% of the same will be achieved by the end of 2012.
Challenges
Presently there is deficit in power generation target set by government and actual achieved. Thermal power generation is dependent on availability of coal and there is acute shortage of coal. It’s a big challenge how government plans and acts to arrange for the required quantity of coal to improve power generation in the country. There is also a shortage of equipments required for power generation.
Growth Prospects
Although the optical fiber network in India is the fourth largest in the world, the optical fiber length per capita is only 39 meters in this country while it’s 197 meters in China and 907 meters in the United States. We think Indian cable demand would increase faster reaching 15-20 million fkm in 2015.
In 12th plan (2012-2017) there is a target of 100000 MW of power generation which ensures a steady growth in wire and cable industry but government has to really take some positive initiatives to bridge the gap between targets and actual performance.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Pravin Agarwal (Wholetime Director)
STERLITE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
Pune, Maharashtra
www.sterlitetechnologies.com
.
.
.
.
.
Capacity
………Current
………Optical Fibers: 12 million FKMS
………Power Conductors: 160,000 MT
………Ongoing capacity expansions
………Optical Fibers: 12 million FKMS to 20 million FKMS
………Power Conductors: 160,000 MT to 200,000 MT
Product Manufactured
- Products
………» Optical Fiber
………» Fiber Optic Cables
………» Structured Data Cables
………» OPGW Cables
………» Power Conductors
- Solutions
………» Telecom System Integration
………» Fiber Connectivity
- Infrastructure
………» Power Infrastructure
Turnover
• 2010-11: Rs. 2,263 crores
Trends
- Telecom Cables
Demand for telecom cables would be driven by continued development of backbone and access networks. Additionally, newer technologies like 3G would require the installation of transmission towers and there would be a demand from the fiber backhaul. There is also tremendous potential in the Fiber To The Home (FTTH) segment since today’s users are looking increasingly for a quadruple play of high-speed broadband, high-definition video, unlimited anywhere telephony, and real-time surveillance.
- Power Conductors
To cater to the growing energy requirement across the globe, investments in new generation facilities are inevitable. The investments in power generation has to be supported with equal if not more investments to build a robust transmission and distribution (T&D) network, which would lead to a demand for overhead power conductors.
Challenges
The current challenge that the industry is facing is more from the aspect of operations rather than from policy. These challenges include ROW, reduced lifetime of cables due to mishandling, deployment times, complex tendering modalities, etc.
Growth Prospects
Sterlite continues to drive its business and increase its market share through scaling of volume, enhancement of its global client footprint, stringent focus on costs and advances in technology.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Naveen Sawhney (Managing Director)
CORDS CABLE INDUSTRIES LTD.
New Delhi
www.cordscable.com
.
.
.
.
.
Capacity
Cable production worth Rs. 550 crores p.a. (approx.)
Product Manufactured
• LV Cables
• Control Cables
• Instrumentation Cables
• A wide range of special cables such as: Fire survival, Foundation fieldbus cables, Solar PV cables, ToxFree and XtremeTemp cables.
Turnover
For the year 2010-11 was:
…..• Gross: Rs. 311.75 crores
…..• Net: Rs. 289.61 crores
With the commissioning of new manufacturing unit at Kahrani, Rajasthan in January 2011, we expect to achieve a turnover of Rs. 400-425 crores in 2011-12.
Trends
The cable industry had been generally growing at around 15% annually during 2003-08. This was largely due to the liberalization and government’s focus on the infrastructure and power sectors. Since 2008, due to the global meltdown, industry in general, both domestic and overseas had witnessed a severe drop from the peak demand of 2007 alongwith a liquidity crunch. Due to this the cable industry globally experienced pressures on both top-lines and bottom-lines with only a marginal growth during 2008-09 & 2009-10. The cable industry also saw some consolidation.
Europe has slowed down considerably, while the pace of activities has increased in India and South Asia in general, the Middle East & Africa. Considerable investments are being made or being pledged by governments in the Middle East region towards power generation, transmission and distribution as well as oil & gas and refining capacities. Also there is demand in the oil & gas sector from the CIS region. From Africa we are seeing demand from the cement, steel, fertilizers and mining industries. Thus, we believe that the cable industry should have a good growth even during these difficult economic times.
Speaking specifically of India, we find that there is a strong impetus on development from the government in sectors such as – infrastructure, power, refineries and fertilizers.
During the 11th five year plan, India shall be adding a power generation capacity of 45,000 – 50,000 MW. The 12th five year plan which shall begin from 2012, aims at adding another 65,000 MW of power generation capacity. This massive addition in generation capacity would also bring along with it a much bigger demand for cables from the transmission and distribution sectors. Also we have been witnessing strong government focus on implementing alternate/green energy projects such as – solar, hydel, wind. Thus, we see a robust demand of cables in the power sector.
India is also poised to become a major refining & petro-chemical hub with several new refineries already commissioned and major expansions of existing refineries and further plans to build major new refineries. There is also a similar impetus in steel & cement sectors; India is expected to add an additional capacity of 50 million tons of steel in next 3-4 years.
Massive cable demand is also expected from the various ambitious metro railway projects being commissioned and planned such as – Delhi Metro Phase-III, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Jaipur. Work on the western freight corridor is also expected to start in the next few months and this will add about 720 kms of rail line in the first phase.
Challenges
The cable industry is facing a few challenges at the moment such as – tight liquidity positions, pressures from increasing input raw material costs, difficulty in getting the right manpower both towards manufacturing & administrative activities. The cable industry also lacks good R&D facilities and talent.
Going further the cable industry should invest in good R&D facilities, creation of quality and pool of talent for manufacturing activities through collaboration with regional technical educational institutions.
Over the next 2 years, stiff competition in the cable industry and pressure on bottom lines. This makes the case for investments in R&D and development of new products and markets critical for the cable industry.
Growth Prospects
We forsee a good growth of 15-20% year on year over the next 2-3 years in the cable industry.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Mr. Nitesh Bhai Vaghasiya (Managing Director)
ULTRACAB INDIA PVT. LTD.
Shapar (Veraval) Dist-Rajkot, Gujarat
www.ultracab.in
.
.
.
.
.
Capacity (per annum)
• House Wire — 6 Lac Coils
• Industrial Flexible — 6000 KM
• Submersible Flat Cables — 6000 KM
• Power and Control Cables — 1200 KM
Product Manufactured
• PVC – XLPE – LT Power & Control Cables
• Multicore Flexible Wires
• House Wires/ Building Wires
• Flat Cable especially for Submersible pumps
• Aerial Bunched Cables
Challenges
Competition is the main challenge
Growth Prospects
In next 5-10 years there will be a huge growth in wire and cable industry as power and infrastructure development is growing fast.