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‘Indian welding industry suffers from skilled manpower shortage’
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PM NEWS BUREAU
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Wednesday, September 08, 2010, 10:46 Hrs [IST]
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 — Arindam Pakrashi, India Head, Regula Systems AB
Regula Systems AB is a Swedish company
manufacturing Electronic Welding Regulators and other
related products for the welding industry. The
company's Indian subsidiary is located in Kolkata.
Arindam Pakrashi speaks to Sandeep Menezes on the
need for specialised schools and institutes to raise a
modern and educated class of welders.
High gas consumption has long
plagued the welding industry
across India.
Basically, shielding gas constitutes
the most important factor for
good welding quality. The problem
is that due to its abundance
and cheaper price in India, R&D
on shielding gas has not been
done much.
High gas consumption happens
due to:
- The wages of the welder are not
very high and at the end of the
day it is the welder who does the
job. The wages in many industries
and regions are based on
the number of jobs done; therefore,
welders have a tendency to
produce larger number of jobs
within limited timeframe.
Therefore, welders increase the
current and thereby gas consumption
also increases.
- Traditional consumption system
of gas supply across respective
welding industries is basically
the central systems. The
central systems have presence
of 2-3 km long pipeline and ultimately
come out through hundreds
of outlets. In many cases
those lines are old with lots of
damages and leakages.
- The conditions under which
those machines are operating
are another reason for high gas
consumption. With the burgeoning
usage of these
machines, there is always stress
on the machines. The over
usage and under maintenance
of these machines is also an
important aspect.
Traditionally, the Indian welding
industry uses mechanical
devices to reduce gas consumption.
Is there a growing shift
towards electronic welding
regulators?
The mechanical devices used to
reduce gas consumption currently
are mainly designed to
provide lower fuel consumption,
but they don't ascertain optimum
fuel and thereby don't provide
optimum fuel consumption.
These types of mechanical
devices actually make the pipe
thinner; it will result in lower fuel
consumption but not optimum
fuel consumption.
In spite of having the second
largest pool of engineers and
technicians, India still faces a
shortage of skilled manpower.
The Indian welding industry is
suffering from skilled manpower
shortage. We are facing a
shortage because there are not
enough schools and institutes
to bring modern educated class
of welders.
Another problem is that there is
migration of good quality
welders to the Middle East as the
remuneration vis-à-vis the work
load and hazards involved in
welding jobs are not commensurate
to wages. This migration
creates dearth of good quality
welders in India which is not
good for our industry.
Is the welding industry technologically
on par with that in
the West?
Welding technology is a subject
that is into rapid growth. There
is a constant drive on the part of
the Indian welding fraternity to
be at par with the global scenario.
But in case of application
of robots, we are much behind
Japan and Europe.
Human intervention and
interference is an essential fundamental
for upgradation of
welding. But the job performed
through the application of
robotics is highly varied.
India still does not have proper
safety regulations for the welding
industry.
If you take into consideration the
top-level companies across India
then adequate steps have been
taken for safety of employees like
boots, dress, attire etc. We should
also keep in mind that a large
chunk of the welding fraternity is
employed in medium- and smallscale
units. Here safety aspects
are very shabby and not much
attention is given to it.
 Another area that is important
to this matter is environment.
The occurrence of CO2 gas due
to excessive wastage in welding
is alarming. Some industries
like railways, shipbuilding
etc., emit excessive gas and
therefore adequate steps need
to be taken.
How do you foresee the welding
industry growing in near
future? What will be the key
growth drivers?
We are witnessing so many foreign
companies coming into
India, especially in the field of
automobiles and other equipment,
that there is tremendous
growth awaiting the welding
industry in next five years. The
welding industry has already
reached the pick-up stage and
now we are really growing. The
next five years will put us at the
crossroads in comparison to
Southeast Asian nations, since
some countries like Vietnam
and Cambodia are also growing
quickly.
But if we don't go for more
automation and implementation
of robotics at the required scale,
then our benchmark growth scenario
may be compromised.
In spite of growing demand, the
welding markets in US and
Europe are reportedly lowering
the prices of welding equipment
and consumables to make them
affordable to EPC contractors.
How do you foresee the price scenario
unfolding in India?
The price at which welding equipment
and consumables were
being sold in US and Europe were
very high; this situation does not
exist in India. They are offering
the discounts because their prices
were very high; the Indian situation
is well guarded till now.
What is Regula Systems' longterm
strategy in India?
Our company has brought a paradigm
shift in shielding technologies.
The three aspects are
optimisation of gas flow, cost
effectiveness and welding quality.
I am saying paradigm shift
because we are not only optimising
the flow but also due to technology
the quality is becoming
better. We have brought our technology
at the doorstep of the
Indian welding fraternity.
That the gas flow will be regulated
according to the welding current
is a matter that is beyond even
the mind of the welding fraternity.
We have brought this pathbreaking
technology here with the longterm
intention to stay in India.
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