Indian Composites Industry can ‘Make for the World’ to become the preferred sourcing destination: Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, Ministry of Defence on inauguration of ICERP 2023 in Mumbai today

In his inaugural address, Dr Reddy called upon the Indian Composites Industry to ‘Design, Develop and Manufacture’ with technological innovation to become the world’s top sourcing destination of composites material. Emphasising on the importance of the composites material, Dr Reddy further mentioned that the composite material was being increasingly used in the automotive, aerospace, defence, infrastructure and construction sectors in India and hence, many Companies were entering or expanding in this sector making it more competitive. He stressed on the need to have improved technologies for wider applications. “For any country to be self – reliant, it must be strong both in manufacturing and technology. In order to enhance the contribution of the manufacturing sector from today’s 17% into India’s GDP to 25%, we must bring resilience in the manufacturing sector with innovation and Indian Composites Industry has a capability to achieve the same”, he added.

Dr Reddy also cited the need for import of composites material in the defence sector and mentioned that India’s defence exports had grown to Rs 13,000 crore in the last year due to its emphasis on Atmanirbhar Bharat mission and the Indian Composites Industry would benefit from increasing demand from the defence sector.   

Dr Reddy advised the Indian Composites Industry stakeholders that the industry players should set up ‘Centres of Excellence’ and manufacturing clusters with modern technologies. 

Mr Kumarpal Rawji, Chairman of FRP Institute, while welcoming the guests at the Conference, said, “The $ 1.26 billion Indian Composites Materials Industry, better known as reinforced plastics, is eying growth at a CAGR of 6.9% over the next five years to reach US$ 2.01 billion in 2027. With a volume growth globally, it is set to cross the global average of 4.7% by volume and touch the mark of 6.1% in the next five years”.

Ms Piya Thakkar, Chairperson of ICERP, 2023 said, “Indian Composites Industry fared well during the COVID pandemic and showing a growth momentum. As India is poised to become a global economic leader, the Indian Composites Industry has a bright future. India’s focus on infrastructure, energy, mass transportation, defence, construction sectors, the demand for composites is just growing. The Atmanirbhar Bharat mission demands indigenisation of composite value chain to meet the country’s composite needs”.

The International Conference and Exhibition on Reinforced Plastics (ICERP 2023) has brought together all stakeholders of Indian and global Composites Industry on one platform.  

According to the Report ‘Indian Composites Materials Market – Current Status & Forecast – 2027’ launched earlier by the FRP Institute, the Indian Composites Material Industry is taking the consumption from 511.9 kilotons of composites materials in 2021 to 768.2 kilotons in 2027. 

The Report further stated that India still has a lower per capita consumption of composites at merely 0.37 kg in 2021 as compared to matured markets such as the USA with 11.5 kg, which has the highest per capita consumption and Germany with 7.7 kg. Even countries like the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain and Asian countries like Taiwan, Japan have per capita consumption of composites ranging between 4 to 9 kg. As per this, India has the highest opportunities in terms of composites consumption”. 

Out of the total Composites Materials Market in India (which is 511.9 kilotons in 2021 by material type) Matrices and Reinforcements together represented 86.7% share in 2021 while fillers and other composites occupied the rest of the share. Glass Fiber, Polyesters, and Epoxies remained as dominant materials and collectively represented 77.7% share in 2021. With further push on infrastructure and logistics by the Government, the sectors like ground transportation, building and construction, infrastructure development collectively accounted for approximately 50.8% share in 2021, in terms of volume.

Forecast – 2022 to 2027: 

Ground Transportation, Construction and Infrastructure are likely to remain the key markets for Composites Materials by 2027. From 2022 to 2027, in terms of volume, the sectors such as Renewable Energy will see the highest CAGR of 8.6%, Aerospace and Defense will clock a CAGR of 8.2%, Construction and Infrastructure will witness a CAGR of 6.5% and CAGRs in   others such as Telecom (5.8%), Electrical and Electronics (5.5%), Ground Transportation (5.4%), Pipe and Tanks (5%) and other sectors at 4.7%. 

The future of Indian composites market looks attractive in the wake of increasing consumption opportunities for composites material in the industries like electrical and electronic, particularly due to emergence of electrical vehicles, wind energy, mass transportation and construction industries. 

The major drivers for growth would be the rise in demand for electrical and electronic, wind energy, and pipe and tank applications due to increase in the number of Government projects like smart cities development, eco-friendly energy generation, hydrocarbon opportunities, freshwater transportation, sewage treatment system, rehabilitation of water and sewage pipelines. The Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative will further augment the prospects on a global level. 

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