CHAPTER III SETTING OF THE STUDY (COIMBATORE AND INDUSTRIES) Coimbatore known as Kovai,, is a city in Tamilnadu, India. It is the second largest city and agglomeration in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, after Chennai and the sixteenth largest urban agglomeration of India. It is one of the fastest growing tier-ii cities in India and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educational, information technology, healthcare and manufacturing hub of Tamil Nadu. Other important industries include software services. It is the capital city in the Kongu 79
Nadu region and is often referred to as the Manchester of South India. The city is located on the banks of the Noyyal River surrounded by the Western Ghats and is administered by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation. Coimbatore has been ranked 4th among Indian cities in investment climate and ranked 17 th among the top global outsourcing cities. Coimbatore is the fourth largest metropolis in South India. Coimbatore city is the administrative capital of Coimbatore district. Coimbatore is situated in the west of Tamil Nadu, bordering Palakkad district of the state of Kerala. It is surrounded by the Western Ghats mountain range to the West and the North, with reserve forests and the (Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve) on the northern side. The Noyyal River runs through Coimbatore and forms the southern boundary of the corporation. The city sits amidst Noyyal's basin area and has an extensive tank system fed by the river and rainwater. The eight major tanks / wetland areas of Coimbatore are Singanallur, Valankulam, Ukkadam Periyakulam, Selvampathy, Narasampathi, Krishnampathi, Selvachinthamani, and Kumaraswami, Sanganur pallam, Kovilmedu pallam, Vilankurichi, Singanallur Pallam, Karperayan Koil pallam, Railway feeder roadside drain, Tiruchy-Singanallur Check drain and Ganapathy pallam are some of the streams that drain the city. The eastern side of the Coimbatore district, which includes the city, is predominantly dry. The western and northern parts of the district border the Western Ghats the Nilgiri biosphere, the Anaimalai range and the Munnar range. A western pass to Kerala, popularly referred to as the Palghat Gap is the western boundary. Because of its close proximity to the Western Ghats, the district is rich in fauna. The Coimbatore urban wetlands harbours around 116 species of birds. Of these, 66 are resident, 17 are migratory and 33 are local migrants. Spot-billed Pelican, Painted Stork, Open Billed Stork, Ibis, Spot-billed Duck, Teal, Black Winged Stilt are some of the migratory birds that visit Coimbatore wetlands regularly. 80
Apart from the species common to the plains, wild elephants, wild boars leopards, tigers, bison, various species of deer, Nilgiri Tahr, sloth bear and black-headed Oriole can also be found. The Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary 88 km (55 mi) in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1,400 meters covers an area of 958 square kilometres (370 sq mi). More than 20% of the district is classified as forest, lying in the west and north. The forests here are abundant in commercially significant trees such as teak, sandalwood, rosewood and bamboo. The Nilgiris slope of the Mettupalayam range is rich in sandalwood trees and bamboo. They vary from rich tropical evergreen forests of the Punachi range to jungles of shrubs in southern ranges. Apart from the high altitude regions of Western Ghats, most of the forest area has come under Lantana invasion. The locals refer to this as Siriki Chedi. Climate Coimbatore has a pleasant, salubrious climate due to its proximity to thickly forested mountain ranges and the cool breeze blowing through the Palghat gap which makes the consistently hot temperatures pleasant. Under the Köppen climate classification, the city has a tropical wet and dry climate, with the wet season being from October to December due to the northeast monsoon. Coimbatore is located at an elevation of about 411 meters. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures varies between 35 C (95 F) and 18 C(64 F). highest temperature ever recorded is 41 C (106 F) and lowest is 12 C (54 F). Due to the presence of the mountain pass, more elevated parts of the district benefit from the south-west monsoon in the months from June to August. After a warm, humid September, the main monsoon starts from October lasting till early November. These monsoons are brought about by the retreating monsoon. The average annual rainfall is around 700 mm (27.6 in) with the North East and the South West monsoons contributing to 47% and 28% respectively to the total rainfall. This 81
rainfall is not enough to sustain the needs of the city for the entire year and the shortage is made up through water supply schemes like Siruvani, Pilloor and Athikadavu. The soil is predominantly black, which is suitable for cotton cultivation, but some red loamy soil is also found. Coimbatore falls under the Class III/IV Seismic Zone, having experienced a 6.0 Richter scale earthquake in 1900. Coimbatore is divided into four broad regions: North, Central, South and East. Coimbatore East and its surrounding region is primarily a textile and industrial hub. Central Coimbatore is the commercial heart of the city. Coimbatore, is surrounded by the mountains on the west, and the reserve forests on the northern side. The western and northern part of the district borders the Western Ghats with the Nilgiri biosphere. A western pass to Kerala, popularly referred to as the Palghat Gap provides its boundary with the metropolitan area limits. Suburban areas of Coimbatore A large part of the Coimbatore urban agglomeration falls outside the Municipal corporation limits. These suburbs are governed by local bodies called Village Panchayats and Town Panchayats. Besides the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, the Coimbatore UA comprises the town panchayats of Vellalur, Irugur, Sulur, Pallapalayam, Kannampalayam, Veerapandi, Periyanaickeanpalayam, Narasimhanaickanpalyam, Idikarai, Vedapatti, Perur, Kuniyamuthur, Madukarai, ettimadai, Dhaliyur, Thondamuthur, Thirumalayampalayam, Othakalmandapam, Chettipalayam, Alanthurai, Pooluvapatti, Thenkarai, Kurudampalayam, Malumichampatti, Selvapuram, Chettipalayam, Sarcarsamakulam, Mopperipalayam and census towns of Ashokapuram, Chinniampalayam, Somayampalayam, Muthugoundun Pudur, Arasur, Kaniyur and Neelambur. These local bodies are in 82
turn split into wards each electing a councilor through direct election. The head of the local body known as president is elected by the councilors from among their number. With more than 25,000 small, medium and large industries, the city's primary industries are engineering and textiles. Coimbatore is called the "Manchester of South India" due to its extensive textile industry, fed by the surrounding cotton fields. [78][79] The district also houses the country's largest amount of hosiery and poultry industries. [citation needed] The city has two special economic zones (SEZ), the Coimbatore Hi-Tech Infrastructure (CHIL) SEZ at Saravanampatti and the TIDEL Park near Peelamedu, and at least five more SEZs are in the pipeline. As of 2005, when Tirupur was a part of Coimbatore district, Coimbatore was the highest revenue earning district in Tamil Nadu. In 2010, Coimbatore ranked 15th in the list of most competitive (by business environment) Indian cities. Coimbatore is a city in southern India, a major commercial and business hub in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is the highest revenue yielding district in the state even ahead of Chennai, thus making it one of the fastest-growing second-tier metro cities in India. Economy of Coimbatore is heavily influenced by Information Technology, Engineering & Textiles. Coimbatore is called the Manchester of South India due to its extensive textile industry, fed by the surrounding cotton fields. The district also houses the country's largest amount of hosiery and poultry industries. The city has two special economic zones (SEZ), the Coimbatore Hi-Tech Infrastructure (CHIL) SEZ and the Tidel park coimbatore, and at least five more SEZs are in the pipeline. As of 2005, when Tirupur was a part of Coimbatore district. In 2010, Coimbatore ranked 15th in the list of most competitive (by business environment) Indian cities. Coimbatore has trade associations like CODISSIA, COINDIA and COJEWEL representing industries in the city. Coimbatore also has a 160,000 square feet (15,000 m 2 ) trade fair ground, built in 1999. It was named COINTEC due to its 83
hosting of INTEC (Small Industries Exhibition. The Trade Fair complex, one of the country's largest, was built in six months, and is owned by CODISSIA (Coimbatore District Small Industries Association. It is also the country's largest pillar-free hall, according to the Limca Book of Records. Textiles Coimbatore houses a large number of small, medium and large textile mills. It also has textile research institutes like the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR)- Southern Regional station, South Indian Textiles Research Association (SITRA) and the Sardar Vallabhai Patel International School of Textiles and Management. The city also houses two of the Centers Of Excellences (COE) for technical textiles proposed by Government of India, namely Meditech, a medical textile research centre based at SITRA, and Indu Tech based in PSG College of Engineering and Technology. The Coimbatore region is famed for the quality of its cotton and dyed fabric. Documented records reveal that the traditional weavers perfected the art of quality dyeing and that woven fabric from here was known for its colour fastness and vivid patterning. Today, Coimbatore is hailed as the region with the highest concentration of textile activity in the world. It has numerous centres that specialize in spinning, weaving, powerlooms and knitwear. A large produce of the manufacture is exported to different countries. Exports include knitwear, woven apparel and home furnishings. 84
The growth of textiles naturally led to the inception of textile machinery manufacturing. Today, some of the best known global brands in textile machinery and component manufacturing are home grown enterprises. Even in the late 1800s, Coimbatore district had cotton cleaning and pressing factories and was exported to Mumbai (then Bombay) and England. A spinning mill was established around this time and even back then, the textile industry employed over 300 people. The Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) was established in 1933, is very active in the Coimbatore region and governs most of the textile industry in South India. SIMA has a membership spread across the southern states and protects the interests of the textile mills and its workers. The neighboringg town of Tirupur is home to some of Asia s largest garment manufacturing companies, exporting hosiery clothes worth more than 50,000 million. Textile mills and engineering industries are present around the city of Coimbatore in abundant. It is home to textile, automotive spare parts and motor pump manufacturing units. Cities of Tirupur and Erode are the country's largest exporters of knitwear. They are well known for textile manufacturing industries and exports to such extent that the districts of Coimbatore, Tirupur, Karur, Erode, Namakkal and Salem. Coimbatore is known as the "Manchester of South India" for its cotton production. The region around Coimbatore, Tirupur, Karurand Erode is referred to as the "Textile Valley of India" with the export from the Tirupur 50,000 million ($1,000 million) and Karur generates around 35,500 million ($750 million) a year in foreign exchange. 56 per cent of India's total knitwear exports come from Tirupur and Karurr make above 60 per cent of India's home textiles. Gobichettipalayam, Pollachi, Theni and Vedasandur are known for its cottonspinning mills. Rajapalayam is famous for its cotton market. Gobichettipalayam is a prominent producer of white silk with the country's first 85
automated silk reeling unit present here. Kanchipuram and Arani are world famous for their pure zari silk sarees and handloom silk weaving industries. Aruppukottai, Salem, and Sathyamangalam are also famous for art-silk sarees. Andipatti, Tiruchengodu, Paramakudi,Kurinjipadi, Chennimalai are major handloom centres. Negamam, Cinnalapatti, Woraiyur, Pochampalli are famous for its soft cotton saree weavings. Madurai is well known for its Chungidi cotton saree. Bhavani is famous for carpet. Manufacturing Coimbatore has a large and a diversified manufacturing sector facilitated by the presence of research institutes and large number of engineering colleges producing about 50,0000 engineers. Some of the prominent industries in Coimbatore include L&T, BOSCH, PSG, Sakthi group, Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW), Premier Instruments & Control Limited (PRICOL), Premier Evolvics, Janatics, LGB, Revathi Equipment Ltd, ELGI Equipments, Craftsman Automation Pvt Ltd, Shanthi Gears, Roots Industries, Air MAK. Wind Energy major Suzlon has set up a foundry & machine shop in Coimbatore. Along with it Hansen Transmission, a Belgian Company which manufactures gearboxes for windmills is setting up a plant here with an investment of 940 cr. 86
Auto components Coimbatore has emerged as one of the most trusted outsourcing destinations for the auto component industry. Several factors have contributed to this growth, including ready availability of resources and skilled technical talent. Technical Partnerships and strategic alliances with global manufacturers have given the Coimbatore auto component industry more mileage in the international market. Today, auto majors with a growing presence in India source both major components and sub assemblies from the city. Several international automotive manufacturers source components ranging from exhaust systems to braking systems, seating, electronic and electrical components, mechanical engine parts, body components and suspensions and radiators among others. Many auto component manufacturing companies are OE partners to multinational brands. Textool offered a prototype of Sten Guns to the Indian Government after independence. They developed the first in-house-designed car in the 1960s, which never saw the light of day due to the license raj. They made several prototypes until the 1990s. They successfully manufactured India's first indigenously developed diesel engines in 1972 for cars and their own CNC lathes in 1982. Today their spin-off company, Jayem Automotives, offers R & D services to Mahindra, Tata Motorsand Hindustan Motors. Maruti Udyog and Tata Motors source up to 30% of their automotive components from Coimbatore. Some of the auto component makers in Coimbatore include Robert Bosch GmbH, PRICOL, Craftsman Automation and Roots Industries. 87
Wet grinders Coimbatore has more than 700 wet grinder manufacturers with a monthly output As of March 2005 of 75,000 units. The term "Coimbatore Wet Grinder" was given a Geographical indication for wet grinders manufactured in Coimbatore and Erode in 2006. Coimbatore is also home to a common facility for the manufacturers of wet grinders. Engineering Procurement and Construction More than 50,000 engineering units function in and around Coimbatore city. What began as a focused centre for the manufacture of textile motors in the early 1900s has today become a multi disciplinary entity that is capable of catering to voluminous demands in the international market. Tooling Divisions were incepted primarily as captive units for manufacturing houses and have become a major engineering activity in the region today. With time, many tooling divisions became profit centres of their own, owing to the consistent investment in technology. Today several corporate houses offer precision tooling services to global industries. The light engineering industry in the Coimbatore region also specializes in offering customized engineering solutions for diverse requirements. Pump manufacturing Coimbatore is also called as the pump city of Asia. The City houses large number of small scale engineering companies. The first motor to be manufactured in India came 88
from a small engineering shop in Coimbatore. Today, the pump and motor manufacturing sector is among the largest engineering activities in the city. The pump manufacturing industry in Coimbatore holds a major portion of the total Indian market share. Over the years, the city has become as well known for its pumps as it has for its textiles. Many brands in the international market are Coimbatore based companies and the quality and technical superiority of the products has helped the sector cater to both domestic and global demands. Apart from a leading presence in the water pump market, the city s manufacturing houses also specialize in the manufacture of industrial pumps. The motor and pump industry supplies over 40% of India s requirements. The Major Pump manufacturers Aquasub engineering, Mahendra Pumps, Suguna pumps, Sharp Industries, Deccan Pumps, CRI Pumps, Texmo Industries, PVG Industries, Flowserve, Kirloskar Brothers & KSB Pumps have manufacturing base in the city. Foundry Industries The Indian Foundry Industry is well established and occupies a special place in the country s economy. India stands 3rd in the world next to China and US in world casting producers. In India there are approximately 4600 units out of which 80% can be classified as Small Scale units & 10% each as Medium and Large Scale units. The large foundries are modern & globally competitive and are working at nearly full capacity. Foundry market in India has registered its production to 9.05 million tons of castings in 2010-11 and is looking at doubling its annual castings production to about 20 million tons by 2020. India exported 1146.96 USD Mn of Industrial Castings in the year 2011-12. India will be sustaining its present scenario 89
and has projected that the growth will continue during the coming years with the raising demands. Founder industry being a major feeder to many important manufacturing industry sectors like automobiles, railways, power, pumps, valves, compressors, machine tools etc is directly impacted by the performance of all these major manufacturing sectors. Other challenges like power, lack of skilled labour, varying raw material costs, present infrastructure support, etc adds on as additional factors that results in creating an abnormal environment. Given all these uncertainties, the Indian foundry industry still possess a huge opportunity of growth in terms of technology and business There are more than 5,000 foundry units in India, having an installed capacity of approximately 7.5 million tonnes per annum. The majority (nearly 95%) of the foundry units in India falls under the category of small-scale industry. The foundry industry is an important employment provider and provides direct employment to about half a million people. A peculiarity of the foundry industry in India is its geographical clustering. Some of the major foundry clusters in the country are shown in the map. Typically, each foundry cluster is known for catering to some specific end-use markets. For example, the Coimbatore cluster is famous for pump-sets castings, the Kolhapur and the Belagum clusters for automotive castings and the Rajkot cluster for diesel engine castings Foundry Cluster: Coimbatore Coimbatore, located in the state of Tamil Nadu, is an important foundry cluster in Southern India. The foundry industry at Coimbatore came up mainly to cater to the needs of the local textile and pump-set industries. There are about 600 foundry units in Coimbatore. The geographical spread of the cluster includes Thanneer Pandal/Peelamedu, Ganapathy, SIDCO, Singanallur, Mettupalayam Road and Arasur Village. 90
Most of the foundry units cater to the needs of the domestic market. A small percentage (about 10%) of the foundry units are also exporting castings. Nearly half the number of foundry units are manufacturing castings for the pump-set industry. The distribution of the foundry units by end-use markets is given below. Distribution of foundry units at Coimbatore by end-use segments Pumps Valves 46% Food processing industry 7 % Textile machinery 6 % Electric motors 6 % Automotive 4 % Others 31 % Jewellery and gems manufacturing Coimbatore is one of the major gold jewellery manufacturing hubs in India, renowned for making cast jewellery and machine made jewellery. The city is home to about 3000 jewellery manufacturing companies and to over 40,000 goldsmiths. The jewellery manufacturers have an active association called Coimbatore Jewellery Manufacturers' Association, and have also jointly established Coimbatore Gem and 91
Jewellery Industries Private Limited (Cojewel), which is a common facility with niche goldsmith machinery to be used by the members of the association. Several jewellery retail chains like Kirtilal's are based in Coimbatore or have their manufacturing base in Coimbatore. Owing to the presence of a large number of jewellery manufacturers and the strong engineering base, the city is home to a number of companies manufacturing jewellery making machinery. The city is also a major diamond cutting centre in South India. For example Kirtilal's Jewellers alone have 5 diamond cutting and polishing centres in Coimbatore. Food Processing Coimbatore has some of the oldest flour mills in India. The large-scale flour mills, which cater to all the southern states, have a combined grinding capacity of more than 50,000 MT per month. The city houses many famous high-capacity flour mills like India Roller Flour Mills (which is closed now) and Coimbatore Roller Flour Mills. These flour mills have been around for decades and were in the outskirts of the city at one time. Now they are in the middle of the city owing to increasing urbanization. Retail and e-commerce Brookefields Mall 92
There are a number of retail outlets, supermarkets and shopping malls in Coimbatore. The food chain Sri Krishna Sweets is based in Coimbatore while the Nilgiris supermarket has branches in the city. The Chennai Silks, Nalli, and Naihaa have showrooms in Coimbatore. Coimbatore is already the largest non-metro city for e-commerce in South India, due to growing online shopping, e- ticketing and e-billing adaptation in the city. Several e-commerce companies are based out of Coimbatore including gajgallery.com & Krizda.com Real Estate and Hospitality In the recent years, the city has seen growth in the hospitality industry. Five star hotels likevivanta by Taj-Surya, Taj Residency, Le Royal Meridien, Trident, four star hotels like Aloft and several three star hotels like Park Plaza, The Residency, CAG Pride, Heritage Inn, Jenney Residency, Alankar Grande, Rathna Residency, Hotel City Tower and Mangala International have presence in the city. 93