Arvind partners with Italian firm for pultrusion tech used in 5G towers

Italy's Top Glass to bring technology to Arvind's Advanced Materials Division for specialty composite products

Eyeing possibilities of specialty composite products in the telecom, electrical and construction sectors such as 5G base station materials, Arvind Limited's Advanced Materials Division has collaborated with Italy's Top Glass Industries S.p.A. for pultrusion technology.

As part of the partnership, the flagship company of the US $1.7 billion Indian conglomerate Arvind Group will not only gain access to Top Glass Industries' technological knowhow but also to the latter's European and other markets, opening up further export potential for Arvind.

The partnership will not only help the Indian player bring down India's import dependence on products but also increase possibilities of new products to be manufactured indigenously for both domestic and exports. According to Ashish Kumar, CEO – Advanced Materials Division & Arvind Envisol, Arvind Limited, key among these would reduced import dependence on antenna solutions used in telecommunication and parts and specialty products used in electrical equipment like transformers, apart from indigenous manufacturing possibilities for radomes and base stations materials to be used in 5G technology going forward.

Composite products find high applicability in industries such as Infrastructure, Telecom, Electrical and Construction industries. Composite materials are known to be corrosion resistant and demonstrate high strength to weight ratio making them suitable for advanced architecture. Structural composites that are formed through Pultrusion are light-weight and maintenance-free alternatives to wood, concrete and metals.

"Through this technology transfer, we will get the formulations which are already used by our partners for products in Europe. There have been differences in the pultrusion processes for making composites and Top Glass' technological know-how will help us bring us these solutions to India. These can be used in enhancing radome productivity in 5G towers for which we will be ready now, along with bridges and other construction related composite products," Kumar told Business Standard.

Amidst lack of benchmarks in the composite industry in Indian market, the partnership will help Arvind establish and raise these standards in terms of speed and efficiency. For instance, for a standard composite product, Top Glass could help Arvind achieve 70-80 per cent more speed in pultrusion process.

Apart from technology, the partnership will also boost export market for Arvind's AMD. While India is at a nascent stage for adoption of newer materials like composite glass fabrics, globally, composite materials have made in-roads into diverse segments such as telecom, electrical infrastructure, automobile, railways, aviation, renewable, and wind energy, among others.

Currently, AMD, which is involved in specialty products for human protection as well as telecom, electrical and construction industries, among others, exports 65 per cent of its products, with rest being marketed domestically. Of the 65 per cent exports, while Europe and US form 40 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, through Top Glass Arvind's access to European markets now stand enhanced.

Contributing roughly Rs 5 billion to the flagship Arvind Ltd., AMD is expecting to grow by 20-25 compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for the next 3-4 years.