CII International Summit on Industrial Floorings brings stakeholders on a common platform
In sync with PM Modi’s “Make in India” initiative, Industrial Flooring in India evolving towards Global Best Standards
Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative to be successful, India needs a ‘firm floor’ to work on. Industrial Flooring in India needs to move – and fast - towards Global Best Standards, given that Industrial Flooring is the base which once upgraded to world class, will support the initiative.
The need for Indian flooring industry to work as per global best practices as well as standardized specifications was underscored at the inaugural session of the CII’s International Summit onIndustrial Floorings, being held in Mumbai. A thought leadership platform on Flooring Sector.
“Industrial Flooring plays important role in economic and industrial growth, and it is high time it is given due attention,” said Shri Subhash Desai, Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Government of Maharashtra. He stressed upon the importance of modern technology for industrial growth, specifically mentioning industrial flooring as being important to the construction of high-tech industrial units. Complimenting CII for organising the Summit on Flooring, he advised stakeholders to work towards taking India’s industrial flooring to a standardized, ‘next level’ of global standards.
The Indian Government has launched various initiatives, including ‘Make in India’ as also ‘100 Smart Cities’, which aim to take the Indian economy to global standards. “These,” said Dr Raman Ramachandran, Chairman and Managing Director, BASF India & Head BASF South Asia, “require Indian industry to catch up to World standards of productivity, for which state of the art ones facilities which can provide consistently high quality products are a must. Flooring in industries is that element which needs to be world class, to support the objective. With automation increasingly being a part of industry, the tolerance to which the floor is levelled, finished, hardened, made moisture resistant and dust proof are issues which have taken centre-stage. When it comes to industrial flooring in India, It is not just about ‘may’ but ‘must’ – when we speak about the need for standardization of norms through multiple stakeholders. Keeping in mind Global trends and how they will impact Indian flooring is important, ensuring that these are sustainable solutions for the future, he added.
Earlier, Mr A P Mull, Chairman, CII’s International Conference on Industrial Flooring & Former CEO & MD, TCE Consulting Engineers said that In the two quarters ending March and June 2017, India had witnessed over 1000 projects being announced, valued at $ 51,060 million; of these, the manufacturing sector accounts for $ 18,082 million. “These will create a huge demand for quality flooring,” he said.
Even as Technology for Industrial Flooring keeps getting advanced day by day, there is an equal requirement for dissemination of this technology amongst stakeholders across India, remarked MrA P Mull. He asked the obvious question: why did industrial flooring deserve attention? Given increased demand for structures in the industrial space, he explained, industrial flooring has gained importance. From foundation to methodology and material handling, there were various aspects which needed to be in focus, he said. Pointing out that at present, there were no common guidelines for flooring across India, he said the objective of the CII - Industrial Flooring Summit was to bring the stake holders of Industry under one roof, to discuss issues including standards and regulations for the industrial flooring industry. “This Summit will deliberate on various aspects which in turn, will help the industry achieve sustainable growth and remain a step ahead in the global scenario,” he added.
Bad flooring causes losses, be it in terms of time losses or damage to materials and machines. “Who pays for a bad floor, who will take the onus of performance,” was the question posed by Mr Arijit Basu, Managing Director, Sika India. He stressed on the importance of making the shift from a largely unorganised to structured and organised flooring, with proper parameters laid down.Mr Arijit Basu said the scenario as regards industrial flooring in the Indian scenario was like playing the Blue Whale game – the flooring was planned, based on the design, a producer sent the materials, it was left to the “so-called experts” to actually create or lay the flooring. There were issues relating to the foundation on which the flooring was to be laid, he said, stressing on the need for standardized specifications. He mentioned that IIT Madras was working on creating a document which would list the standards and norms for industrial flooring in India.
In a positive response to this, in the next session, Dr Sunitha Nayar, Scientist, IIT, Madras spoke about an initiative taken up as a result of the first CII Summit on Flooring which had been held in Chennai last year, which was the first attempt to create flooring guidelines. She said the document was expected to be complete by the year-end it would be an appropriate document which aspects relating to standards for flooring. Mr A P Mull said the initiative by IIT Madras was welcome, and said the industry was waiting for the same.
Apart from the knowledge sharing during the proceedings, live Demonstration of Wet Concrete and Polishing along with concurrent exhibition at the CII Industrial Flooring Summit were among the highlights of the Summit.
12 September 2017
Mumbai
Photo Caption :
Shri Subhash Desai, Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Govt of Maharashtra addressing at CII’s International Summit on Industrial Flooring: “Challenges and Opportunities”
In Photo :
• Shri Subhash Desai, Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Govt of Maharashtra
• A P Mull, Chairman, CII’s Intl Conf on Industrial Flooring & Fr CEO & MD TCE Consulting Engineers
• Ajay Singam,Co-Chairman-CII’s Int’l Conf on Industrial Flooring &Director-Business Operations &Avcon Technics
• Saurabh Rajurkar, CII