Chennai: “The domestic adhesive industry can be sustained only by increasing the value of the products and decreasing foot print. The adhesive industry is growing at seven per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in the country and is poised to reach Rs 25,000 crore over the next two-three years,” said business director – South Asia, Henkel Adhesives Technologies India, S Sunil Kumar.
He said this while delivering the T S Narayanaswami Memorial Lecture conducted by the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers Chennai Regional Centre (IIChE-CRC) in association with AC Tech Chemical Engineering Department at Anna University, here on Friday.
Sunil said the industry was recording good growth in India following the increase in applications in wide range of areas.
The global size of adhesive industry was pegged at $36 billion, of which the Asia pacific region accounted for 46-48 per cent, he said.
In India, the adhesive industry was growing at Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000 crore per annum and was poised to reach Rs 25,000 crore in the next two to three years, he said.
Speaking on the topic, Adhesive technology: Connect to Innovation and Industry, he said, “If we follow the present strategies in manufacturing, we might require five Earths to live by 2020. That’s the reason, our firm has brought in a rule to reduce raw materials by five per cent every year.”
According to Sunil, there are four important technologies rocking the adhesive industry namely polyurethane, hot melt, water-based and pressure sensitive hot melt technologies.
Explaining about key market drivers for the industry, he said, “Population growth, more disposable income, longer life through better health, urbanisation, radical change in quality and quantity of life, education, individualisation, convenience and empowerment are the aspects that directly influence the adhesive industry.”
“There is a growing demand for adhesives for a wide range of applications in industries like automobile, food processing and Fast Moving Consumer Goods,” he said.