Industry associations in Coimbatore that have members in the engineering sector have decided to form a consortium for purchase of raw materials directly from the manufacturers in bulk.
This was decided at a meeting held by the associations here on Thursday with government officials and representatives of SAIL and Vizag Steels.
A press release from Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISSIA) said that following the steep hike in raw material prices in the last few days, the units were unable to sustain production. Hence, it was decided on Thursday to form a consortium. This will benefit the units in the long-term too. The associations have been asked to talk to the member units and submit details of the raw material requirements within three to four days.
“We will pool the requirement data, with specifications, talk to the manufacturers, and source the raw materials in bulk. It will be distributed through the SIDCO yard. The National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) will provide bank guarantee,” M.V. Ramesh Babu, president of the Association, told The Hindu.
The CODISSIA plans to sign an agreement with SAIL to take forward this proposal, he added. The industries also submitted their demands to the District Industries Centre, which will present it to the State government.
The associations sought re-introduction of the system of allocation of raw materials to MSMEs at subsidised prices as done earlier through nodal State government distribution systems. The SAIL yard here should be re-opened, the associations said.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Coimbatore Industrial Associations decided that its members will support the indefinite shutdown of small foundries here by participating in the strike next week, if it continued.
