Gujarat set to be fastener manufacturers' hub

By Prerna Mishra: Having become a melting pot of several industries such as auto, gems and jewellery, refinery, apparel and textiles, among others, Gujarat is now all set to become the center of fastener makers.

Punjab's fastener manufacturers, who are reeling under several pressures, are looking at Gujarat as an attractive growth destination for themselves. They find the state's policies, regular power supply, etc. favourable for the industry to flourish.

These fastener makers claim to face numerous challenges such as rising raw materials costs apart from land costs, high freight charges, labour crunch, among others in Punjab. This has pushed them to eye Gujarat with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore to set up a cluster.

Talking exclusively to SME News, Raj Kumar Singla, senior vice president, Fastener Manufactures Association of India, said, “Fastener makers of Punjab are planning to set up a cluster in Gujarat with Rs 1,000-crore investment as the challenges in their native state, like high freight charges, expensive raw material, power shortage, labour crunch and importantly high VAT rate, are continuously hitting their profit margins.”

“We see Gujarat as a favourable destination to grow our business citing various facts like industry-friendly policies of state government, round-the-clock power supply, cheap and affordable raw material and low cost land,” he further added.

In the same regard, the association officials are slated to visit Ahmedabad on September 16-17 to give shape to the aforementioned investment and expansion plans.

After Gujarat, the association sees Andhra Pradesh as another growth potential market for fastener manufactures, Singla said while delving on further plans.