Indian LGSF producer, Mitsumi Housing has built a team and factory ready for huge market growth in India
India is currently on track to overtake China and become the world’s most populous country by 2024. By 2030, the population is forecast to hit a staggering 1.5 billion people. The population growth combined with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world (averaging around 7% GDP growth for the last ten years) is fuelling a massive increase in middle-class India. Some estimates believe India will be the largest middle-class market in the world by 2030, increasing from 80 million today to over 580 million by 2025 (pre-Corona estimate). And with this growth comes substantial pressure in infrastructure, construction (speed, capability, waste) and environmental sustainability.
One company well placed to take advantage of these facts is Mitsumi Housing Pvt Ltd. (MHPL) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat (West India).
The Mitsumi group has been involved in traditional construction for the past 27 years and expanded into light gauge steel in 2017. “We decided to invest in the LGSF
technology sector to take advantage of the speed of which it can build, and with the introduction of the government PMAY scheme, we needed to look at rapid building systems,” said Shahid Badshah – Business Head of MHPL.
PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana) is an official Government of India initiative to provide affordable housing to the urban poor with a target of 20 million affordable built by houses by 31 March 2022. There are two schemes; Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-U) for the urban poor and Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) (PMAY-G) for the rural poor. All houses must have a toilet, electricity and gas connections, as well as access to drinking water.
Mr. Shahid has also identified another stream of work to keep their four Framecad machines (3 x 89mm and 1 x 150 mm) and a team of thirteen well qualified inhouse LGS structural designers and cost estimators working hard. “In addition to MHPL, which is a full-service division competing directly for building contracts, we have a separate business unit called GalvaStong. It is dedicated entirely to providing design and supply of light gauge steel studs/profiles to other contractors who have adopted this technology and way of construction. This provides another revenue stream, keeps our machines busy, and provides a much-needed wholesale service to other contractors. And as a result, we also have an excellent pipeline of work” said Mr. Shahid.
As one of the largest light gauge steel manufacturers in India, MHPL is also leading the charge when it comes to educating the market on steel framed buildings. “India is a
very price-sensitive market. LGS is gaining popularity because it’s easy to assemble and fast to manufacture; however, changing people’s mindsets take time. India has diverse weather and seasons, and is blessed with diverse geographies from snow to sand and LGS is a great fit because of its versatility, but we need more product awareness, which we intend to create through a new LGSF education program called ‘”Enable'” said Mr. Shahid”.
‘Mitsumi Enable’ is an exclusive partner program we are developing around the advantages and applications of light gauge steel framing. It is targeted at specifiers including architects and consultants and has a separate education program focused on traditional contractors, final year civil engineering students, and PEB construction companies. Initiatives include factory visits, demo houses and products, specialized quotations, marketing tools, and bill of quantities reporting.
India is a great nation of steel production, and in 2019 officially became the second-largest producer in the world behind China. G350 and G550 steel coil are readily available from two large national mills, Tata and JSW. Metric ton rates vary from Rs.58,000 to 63,000 (USD$766 – $832) depending on the availability and USD exchange rate.
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