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— Mudit Raniwala, Chief Operating Officer, Technocraft Tabla Formwork Systems Pvt. Ltd

Technocraft Tabla Formwork Systems Pvt. Ltd, a part of Technocraft Group and a joint venture with TABLA Construction Systems of Canada, enjoys a significant position in scaffolding and formwork systems and accessories in India. Mudit Raniwala analyses the domestic scaffolding and formwork market in an interview with Sandeep Menezes.

With huge infrastructure projects underway, what kind of growth do you see for scaffolding sector?
We foresee construction to be a 10,000-crore industry in five years and the key sector will be infrastructure with so many metros, bridges, buildings, power plants, refineries etc., happening across the country. Although our initial focus is on buildings, residential as well as commercial, we are also looking at infrastructure projects in a big way.

How has the Indian scaffolding market evolved from bamboo to high-tech metal?
Today, many European players like Doka, Peri and Meva have come to India. With downfall in the US real estate market and other major markets, and rise in the Indian construction industry, we anticipate more and more complex and mammoth structures to be introduced, which cannot be handled by conventional shuttering systems.

How different is the Indian market compared to the West?
 In India we have a civil contractor who purchases or hires scaffoldings and performs the entire shuttering activities, whereas in developed markets there is a separate formwork contractor who performs shuttering activities like supplying material, labour and execution.

Going forward, we expect similar specialisation in formwork solutions happening in India too.

India continues to lack proper safety norms for scaffoldings.
Yes, this surely is a concern. There is a lack of standardisation, and policies and norms are not well implemented. All over the world, the use of bamboo for scaffolding has been banned, but in India we still find major construction activities happening with conventional methods.

However, with new modern buildings, we have no option but to adopt modern formwork and the safety norms implemented worldwide. Builders and contractors in India have now started realising that the modern formwork system is not only safe but also cost effective, as it is less labour intensive and speedier.

What are some of the new global scaffolding techniques being introduced in India?
A few global technologies that are successfully being introduced are self-climbing systems for tall cores, drop head type fast shuttering and de-shuttering systems, and panel-based wall forms with integrated walers and beams.

Despite being a critical segment of the construction industry, much of India's scaffolding business is unorganised with very few formal players. Do you foresee a change in coming years?
Yes, due to lack of standards the unorganised sector is playing a major role in India's scaffolding business. As a result, we have still not got complete modern standard systems, although we see this more as an opportunity than a threat, as the unorganised sector can't cater to high-tech projects like DB Realty's India Tower.

When done in a scientific way, how much would scaffolding related material and services account for in a typical project?
Typically, when modern scaffoldings and formwork systems are used, it would constitute 10 per cent of the total project cost, which will include shuttering material, labour and engineering services. Although, since these materials are reusable and form a part of capital investment, they go a long way in multiple projects thus reducing the actual shuttering costs for a construction company.

What are Technocraft's achievements in scaffoldings since its inception in 1972?
Technocraft started its tubes division in 1993 through acquisition of two tube mills in Murbad, Maharashtra. We then diversified into scaffoldings in 1998 and have become the largest exporters of steel scaffolding in India since 2003.

We have been largely exporting to quality conscious markets like USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. We expanded our manufacturing capacity by starting a factory in China in 2009, especially to cater to export market.

Recently, in 2009, we entered the Indian market with focus on formworks by getting into a partnership with Tabla Constructions of Canada. In this short span we have not only geared up to provide complete manufacturing facilities for formwork products, but have already bagged two prestigious orders for high-rise buildings from Vascon and Simplex in Greater Mumbai.

What are the main growth drivers for Technocraft's scaffolding products and services?
Building construction and infrastructure activities have been picking up in India in the past two years. India's comparatively weak infrastructure is one of the main drivers.

With advent of modern tall buildings like Lodha Group's World One, there is a need for innovative steel scaffoldings and formwork systems; the conventional bamboo and ply shuttering cannot meet these needs.

Scarcity of space in metros and Tier-II cities is leading to tall towers. Dearth of housing in our country is also creating strong demand for more buildings and better infrastructure.

Technocraft offers benefit of both worlds—low-cost manufacturing facility as well as state-of-the-art international products.

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