Had it not been for a piece of ceramic cover over her space shuttle Colombia getting blown up in the outer space, Kalpana Chawla, India’s brightest celestial lady would still be smiling. At that moment of accident, the world thought of a little piece of ceramic material to cover space shuttles, which would wither away in plasma-heat situations.
From the corridors of palatial edifices to modest dining halls, ceramic products have found immense applications in all walks of life. From defence to aerospace to antiques to fancy gifts, variants in the ceramic portfolio are essential commodities.
Global ceramic and glass market
Registering Compound Annual Growth Rate of 9.8%, total ceramics trade grew from $39.6 billion to $83.5 billion globally in the period between 2001 and 2008. Ceramic export trade has grown from $19.8 billion to $ 41.3 billion during the same period, with China occupying the top slot and reaping $8.5 billion for 2008. India finished eighth with 2.5% in contributions whereas Italy, US and Germany trailed China with businesses amounting to $7.4 billion, $6.9 billion $6.8 billion respectively.
The demand for ceramic and glass products is growing globally with over 90 percent of the total demand for advanced ceramic materials coming from electronic goods and allied industries, thanks to the product’s ability to withstand extreme environmental conditions. Japan and U.S. rules this high-tech industry with India trying to book profits through exports.
India’s production in this field languishes at about 5000 tons whereas the global demands exceed 5,00,000 tons per annum.
Indian ceramic and glass market
The Ceramics and glass industry is expected to grow at a pace of over 15 percent per annum in India with per capita consumption of glass at 0.3 sq.m. This figure falls much short of 5-7 sq.m in Europe. Twenty million square feet of shortage in the housing sector in India adds to the woes. Once this gap is filled, the industry would have a dizzying growth.
Currently the boom in IT, automobile and construction industry is aiding the domestic growth.
In porcelain table wares the country is a non-producer and Srilanka and Bangladesh rides the wave.
The market for advanced ceramics in India expected to witness a robust growth of 12 -14%, even as the Potential Industry Earnings for the sector is divided and concentrated across the cities and regional markets of India.
The market demands a portfolio of products in defence, aerospace, medical, electronics and automotives.
Advanced ceramics products require high technology to be manufactured and involve highly refined raw materials which are specially prepared in state-of-the-art facilities.
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research ( CSIR) is employing best minds in the planet in its various laboratories to develop revolutionary products in this segment. Also, a niche market of bio ceramics has lately been an entrant, finding applications in prosthetic devices, bone transplants and pace makers.
Rajasthan: the emerging ceramic king pin!
The state of Rajasthan has huge natural raw material reserves important for ceramic industry like feldspar, gypsum, china clay and ball clay, in abundance. In fact more than 70% of gypsum and feldspar mined in India is contributed by Rajasthan. The state ranks top in the production of jasper and wollastonite and is a formidable and pioneering competition for production in silica sand, soap stone, ball clay, calcite, kaolin, rock phosphate, ochre and so on.
The state is having 80% of all the raw materials needed to produce glass!
Also, over 70% of bon china products in the country are produced in Rajasthan!
With rise in demand in the energy sector, Rajasthan is poised to become a key-player in the insulator industry as well. Certain insulators are necessarily made of ceramics.
With a 650 acre dedicated zone planned at Gilot in the state where piped natural gas would be provided for ceramic industries, (which is an energy intensive industry) the mood is upbeat and infectious. Add to this, ceramics and glass industries in Bhiwadi and Neemrana and a strong giant would emerge.
About 1500 processing units in ceramics and glass are in the state in both the organized and unorganized sector.
In fact, till March 2008, the State has received a whopping investment of Rs 5,000 crores in the Ceramic and Glass Industry and its allied products!
Additionally the power scenario in Rajasthan is bright on many counts. The state is focusing on wind energy and has not taken its gaze away from solar power.
About 40,000 families in the state depend on this industry for livelihood.
Energy factor
Being an energy-intensive industry (whose 35-50% of costs comes from manufacturing process and hence energy), LNG can be a game-changer in this segment. LNG is available at half the cost of LPG. Biomass is also a good option.
Currently, the industry relies heavily on high-cost Heavy Furnace Oil (HFO) for melting the raw materials. When compared to LNG, HFO fares poor in process efficiency. Besides, there is the case of environmental impact. High sulphur content in HFO pollutes the environment.
If this energy conundrum can be solved and uninterrupted LNG can be provided, the Indian market players can very easily take on China, in cost leadership and quality.
For this industry, interruptions in power supply mean production losses! For example, a float glass unit can incur losses to the tune of Rs.1.5 crores in production for want of a few seconds of power supply.
To draw a parallel, in ceramics, such an incident would mean rejection of products or sub-standard products.
Environmental concerns
In view of the environmental concerns floated by various quarters, CII is taking steps to rate companies according to green compliance in near future. The industry also calls for judicious use of natural resources in the form of raw materials, as the resources cannot be replenished.
Reduction of VAT, government incentives for efficient technology and machinery coupled with proper policy implementations can make this sector a sunshine industry.
As published in:http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Ceramic-and-Glass-Industry-Brittle-but-strong-33536-3-1.html
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