The plan was initiated as a progressive step for the benefit of the small- and medium-scale industries in Ludhiana. But the cluster approach in the Punjab city has failed to enthuse its sewing machine manufacturers, going by the the lukewarm response.
Over 70 acres land has been earmarked in Ludhiana for the sewing machine manufacturers that comprises of part-manufacturers to develop the cluster. Out of the 400 manufacturers and ancillary units for sewing machine located in and around Ludhiana, only 30 have submitted application for acquiring the plot in the cluster.
The sewing machine manufacturers in Ludhiana maintain that the space allotted for upcoming cluster in Raikot, for one, is far from the city. Since most of the manufacturers in Ludhiana are from the small-scale category, they find it tough to displace from their existing places, considering the financial aspect. Also, the reserved prices for plots in the upcoming area have been increased threefold, thereby upsetting the plans of shifting to the cluster.
Ludhiana is considered to be Punjab’s hub for the sewing machine industry, with around 90 per cent sewing machines manufactured, assembled and traded from the region. Industrialists peg the size of sewing machine parts manufacturers industry close to Rs 200 crore. Its manufacturers in Ludhiana have for long been raising demands for adopting a cluster approach, saying it could lend impetus to the ailing sector.
The Sewing Machine Development Club claims to be the brain behind the cluster approach. Its president, Jagbir Singh Sokhi, had said after a visit to China a few years ago that the Punjab government should work on a cluster approach to help the sewing machine industry in Ludhiana compete with the East Asian giant.
China had, in the last few years, tried to dominate the sewing machine market in India. The traders here are importing both industrial and domestic category commodities. While approximately 60 per cent of the industrial machines are imported from China, the percentage is less for domestic sewing machines.
The import of a large number of sewing machines from China has made it tough for the domestic manufacturers to compete. Hence, the need for a cluster., says Sodhi.
While the state industries department that has allotted the land for the cluster near Ludhiana blames manufacturers for not letting the concept take off successfully, the entrepreneurs blame on other problems. Industry officials maintain that even small units are still are not comfortable with moving to the cluster, since they see each other as competitors in the business and are not comfortable sharing space in the same place. The government already has allotted space for the cluster and is ready to invest Rs 15 crores for a common facility centre there.
Sokhi blames government officials for the lukewarm response the cluster has generated. First of all, the area earmarked for cluster is quite a distance away from the city/ “This is big deterrent for the manufacturers to shift .”
Also, the earlier-decided prices at Rs 500 per square yard now moving up to Rs 1500 per square yard, again derailing many of the manufacturers’ plans. The only way of generating enthusiasm among sewing machine part manufacturers, Sokhi says, is by providing cheap access to funds which could solve the financial problem for the manufacturers.
