Kanpur firm gets order for war gloves

Jagdish Arora has won appreciation from industry in Kanpur. His company, Krishna Synthetics, has turned defence research into a commercial proposition, receiving orders from the defence services.

Arora's firm makes gloves meant to provide protection against radiation in nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare.

He said it took the firm two years to develop these gloves. They last up to 12 hours. Such gloves from Sweden cost Rs 1,400 a pair. Krishna Synthetics develops them at Rs 326 a pair.

The investment required was Rs 7-8 lakh. The project was possible due to sustained Defence Research and Development Organisation support. Asked if the price charged was too low, Arora said the firm did not think of making huge profits from such orders.

Arora did his B Tech from Jadavpur University, in Kolkata, in 1979, moved to Kanpur, and started Krishna Synthetics, a company that produces mostly rubber products.

"It's because of such cheap prices that we have got orders from the DRDO for making overboots for the same suits, which will cost Rs 850 a pair. The order is of about Rs 10 lakh," Arora said. Next in line is heart valve.

Krishna Synthetics has been making rubber components for city-based Artificial Limb Manufacturing Company (ALIMCO). "Besides, we supply rubber components to the saddlery industry," he said.

The company is a regular supplier of usetrap, a rubber component, for Swedish truck maker Scania.

The company now has a turnover of about Rs 3.5 crore and 71 people work in it.