First PPP paint testing lab to come up in Delhi

Indian Paints and Powder Coating Manufacturers Associations is setting up a testing laboratory in Delhi for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in public-private partnership (PPP).

The project, with an investment of Rs 1 crore, is set to become operational by June 2011. “This is a first of its type laboratory in which the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) are investing 80 per cent of the total project cost while the remaining 20 per cent will be borne by association members. We have nearly 400 members who are ready to participate in this project, said H B S Lamba, president of the association, on the sidelines of a one-day seminar on the paint industry in Mumbai on Friday.

The laboratory is likely to serve about 6,000 small powder and paint manufacturers in the country.

The Rs 13,000 crore Indian paint and powder coating industry currently houses a number of laboratories in both manufacturing and consumption centres like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai. But, the testing charges in these laboratories are too high. As a consequence, industry players cannot afford to send all sensitive products to the labs.

Now, this new lab will charge members a very nominal amount — about 50 per cent of what privately owned independent labs charge. This will not only encourage sales of reliable and certified products in the market, but create consumer confidence in the industry, said Nitin Khanna, chairman of the association.

The industry is dominated by a dozen organised sector players who can afford the high testing fees. But, for entrepreneurial enterprises the high fees — of about Rs 2500 per test — is often a big burden. The organised sector comprises nearly 65 per cent, while the unorganised sector consists of the rest.

Lamba said the central government should declare paint as a necessity due to an estimated Rs 50,000 crore annual loss in the country because of poor construction and maintenance of infrastructure projects.