Piping Dreams

There is a quiet revolution happening in our fields. Farmers are replacing galvanised iron (GI) and lead pipes with PVC pipes. Installing PVC pipes has a number of advantages: they are lightweight, weighing about one-eighth of lead pipes therefore easy to handle and transport, highly resistant to fire, chemicals and the elements. They are also around 20-25 per cent cheaper than GI pipes and more durable with expected life of 20-25 years compared to that of 10-15 years of the latter. Many companies have made good money selling PVC pipes. Finolex, the largest PVC pipe manufacturer is one of the foremost. Formed a little over 30 years ago, Finolex has captured 28 per cent of the organised market for PVC pipes in the country. Here is why Finolex's journey is far from over. Strength Market leader: The domestic PVC pipe market is estimated at around 1.5 million metric tonnes. Half of this market is unorganised and highly fragmented. Organised players bring consistent quality and deeper distribution network that allows them to take market share from the unorganised players. Finolex is the largest PVC pipe manufacturer in India with a capacity of 210,000 MT. It also manufactures PVC fittings and specialty pipes for soil, waste and rain water. More than 70 per cent of Finolex's pipes are used in irrigation. Opportunity in irrigation: Pipes are an indispensable part of irrigation. Given the advantages PVC has over traditional galvanised iron and lead pipes, the trend of replaceme

This article was originally published on September 25, 2014.