Kolhapur pitches for industrial investment

The picturesque, historic town of Kolhapur is well known for its sugar mills, wrestling bouts, Patil "" the turban-clad feudal village bigwig portrayed in the Marathi cinema and the shrine of Mahalakshmi.

But how many know that nearly 300,000 tonnes of castings are made in Kolhapur? Or the fact that valves made here help pump out crude oil at minus 70 degree Celsius in the frozen oilfields of Alaska? Or that Johnson & Johnson's famous prickly heat powder brand Shower to Shower is solely manufactured by a pharmaceuticals company in this city from the southern-most part of Maharashtra?

"Kolhapur's industry is in no way second to that in the state's major industrial centres of Mumbai or Pune. We are perhaps lacking in the effort to communicate with the world and project the promise we hold," says Digvijay Khanvilkar, Nationalist Congress party leader and a former minister in the Maharashtra government.

The city and district have always been away from the glitter of publicity as it has never had a strong political personality on the national or state scene, despite being represented by two members of parliament and half a dozen members of the state assembly.

Khanvilkar is therefore using the 'old schoolmate' way of networking to get industrial investment in Kolhapur.

Thus, his buddy Vinay Thakur, a former chemist with pharmaceuticals major Johnson & Johnson took over a sick unit (which made ice-creams) from the Apte Group of industries to start Mistair Health & Hygiene Private Limited.

The company is a contract manufacturer of pharmaceutical products for human and veterinary consumption and also a few over the counter products for pharma majors Cipla, Bayer, Bluecross Labs and of course, Johnson & Johnson for world exports. Interestingly, the company is the only manufacturer of Johnson & Johnson's prickly heat powder Shower to Shower.

"We have shown that world class pharmaceuticals can be made in Kolhapur," says Thakur who is proud he could offer employment to the local youth. With his World Health Organisation approved facilities, Thakur's Rs 2.5 crore company is poised to enter the business of solid formulations and is tinkering with the idea of making injectables.

Engineering and foundry has been the traditional mainstay of Kolhapur's industry. The activity has however come a long way from being the cluster of "Mistri" outfits to a hub of that manufactures excellent quality.

The leader of the pack in the castings business is Ghatge Patil Industries Limited which makes castings for national and international engineering giants like Tata Motors, HMT, Eisher Motors, Volvo, John Deere or Uzel, Turkey. Spurred by its success in the international markets, the Rs 250 crore GPI is planning expansion of capacities at the nearby Kagal industrial estate.

"We made investments in the lean period of the late nineties and are now ready to meet the booming demand," says Kiran Patil, joint managing director of GPI Ltd. After the expansion is complete the company will export 1000 tonnes of castings per month.

Patil however says the volumes play will be relevant for Kolhapur too. "We have nearly 300 foundries with capacities of 500 "" 700 tonnes per year. They will find it difficult to survive as they would be ill-equipped to infuse latest technology," he says.

The flavour of the month at Kolhapur however seems to be textiles. Half a dozen large textiles units have come up in a short time of two years or so in the Kagal five-star industrial estate developed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.

Prominent among them are Abhishek Textiles, Wardhaman, Raymond Zambaiti and Indo Count who are all 100 per cent export oriented units. Also present is Italy's Tesi Tura Monti at Mudshingi-Sangavade, 20 km from Kolhapur.

Remarkably the industry here has installed the world's best machinery and equipment available, making themselves capable of supplying the products which match the best in the world.

Home textiles from Indo Count will soon adorn the shelves of biggest superstores in the United States while Tesi Tura Monti's fine cottons will be the basic material for readymade shirts for the world market.

On the flip side however is the problem of poor availability of senior managerial staff. Despite its high business volumes and aggregate exports of Rs 3000 crore, the place has not been successful in retaining its talent.

"There is a change in the peoples' attitude as they are now open to moving to Mumbai or Pune for better prospects, leaving us short of trained staff," says Patil.

For him, he is working with technical institutions in the district to train technicians in his processes for future employment. Yet, he is not sure he can stem the problem of attrition that has pushed his wage bill up by as much as 30 per cent.

Good air connectivity is another problem which local industry feels is a issue in the current times. The city has an airstrip which is managed by the MIDC. The problem is that large size aircraft can't land there.

"We have made a demand to the civil aviation ministry for a extension of the strip. The ministry has earmarked Rs 150 crore for the project and we now need the land to go ahead with the project," says Rampratap Zanvar, President of the Kolhapur Industries Association.

Thanks to the interest shown by low-cost airlines such as Deccan Air, there is a daily flight now, which has a high level of occupancy, points out Patil. Expansion of the facilities will mean greater air connectivity that will attract investors, he adds.

Khanvilkar is however determined to get more investments into the area despite these issues. "That alone will ensure better employment for the local youth," he insists.

The government machinery is responding positively, as the MIDC, after selling the entire land in the Kagal estate, is considering acquisition of more land.