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Nina Varghese

Chennai , Aug. 23

A NEW trend is emerging in the manufacturing sector, particularly among the smaller manufacturers. It is a spirit of combativeness to face challenges posed by cheap Chinese imports, comply with quality standards both in Europe and in the US and at the same time brand for the domestic and the international markets. The products in the many shopping malls that bear the `Made in India' tag bear witness to this.

One of the first things that these manufacturers are doing is roping in designers, as the customers are getting more particular about how the product looks. This has also been made possible now as manufacturers can source talent from the various design schools all over the country. Today, products as diverse as water heaters and wall clocks weare designer wares, said one manufacturer.

Venus water heaters, manufactured by Standard Electric Appliances , are a case in point. The company has been around for 40 years and its products are available in most parts of India, and in Nepal and Bhutan. Recently the company launched products in new designs, sizes and with upgrades. Mr I. Ramkumar, Director, Sales, Standard Electric Appliances, said these water heaters with a bamboo forest on it or a Van Gogh added a dash of design and colour to designer bathrooms.

Similarly, Opal Industries from Pune has come out with a number of lifestyle clocks, which are designed by students from the National Institute of Design. Mr Subhas Gujar, Managing Director of Gujar Group that owns Opal, said that his ultimate aim was to build the Opal brand with an India tag.

Some of these companies, taking a lesson from the garment sector, are importing vital parts from South-East Asian countries such as Taiwan and Korea. This gives the company the edge to compete with the best and it saves a lot of time, too, a manufacturer said. In the case of Opal, the company imports the movements for all the models from Japan.

Complying with international norms has also become an important factor for these manufacturers as only then can the products be marketed there. These manufacturers are also looking at tie-ups and marketing arrangements to enter these global markets. Mr Ramkumar said the water heaters would be complying not just to American standards but also to the Euro safety standards. Similarly, a Kolkata-based adhesive company is going in for a Euro compliant technology for its adhesives, which are used by the footwear and automobile exporters, so that these exporters can also access the EU markets.

Smaller manufacturers are also going in for more research and development and have come out with customer friendly models and are of course, reticent about their spends.

In the pressure cooker market in India, Mr S. Ravichandran, Managing Director, TTK Prestige Ltd, said the company had to come out with new designs to generate customer interest.

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