Wool felt makers eye niche orders

The music of A R Rahman has raised hopes for a Madhya Pradesh-based drum-beater pad and piano pressed wool-felt manufacturing company, the Neemuch-based Sealwell Ltd, which makes specialised wool felt used in drum pads and pianos.

While sales fell 30 per cent recently, the company expects a surge in offtake to Rs 8-10 crore this year from specified processed wool goods.

"We supply to vendors of repute who are suppliers of world famous music companies like Yamaha of Japan. Though industry is facing a downward trend, we are receiving orders from our vendors," Abhimanyu Chordia, a senior company executive told BS. Besides drum-beaters pad and piano felts, it made other specified wool felt and sealing felts items. It recently received orders from UK based Hardy & Hansons for 5 lakh dusters for UK schools.

 

"British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced a special package for British education system and we are making dusters and alphabets made from pressed wool," he added. Wool felt units in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Baroda blended marino and Indian wool but faced documentation problems in export and imports.

"We have to file various forms likes Form 48, 49 or 47 in exports and import of raw material. We have demanded state governments simplify specific form filing process to ease the pressure of global meltdown as industry is facing a drop of 30 per cent in demand," Devdutta Sharma, chairman of All India Namda & Wool Felt Association said from Jaipur.